The Senedd met in the Chamber and by video-conference at 13:29 with the Llywydd (Elin Jones) in the Chair.

Statement by the Llywydd

Welcome to this Plenary session. Before we begin, I want to set out a few points. This meeting will be held in hybrid format, with some Members in the Senedd Chamber, and others joining by video-conference. All Members participating in proceedings of the Senedd, wherever they may be, will be treated equally. A Plenary meeting held using video-conference, in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Welsh Parliament, constitutes Senedd proceedings for the purposes of the Government of Wales Act 2006. Some of the provisions of Standing Order 34 will apply for today's Plenary meeting, and these are noted on your agenda.

1. Questions to the First Minister

The first item this afternoon is questions to the First Minister, and the first question is from Mabon ap Gwynfor.

The Cost of Living

Mabon ap Gwynfor AS: 1. What assessment has the Government made of the impact of the rising cost of living on households in Dwyfor Meirionnydd? OQ57826

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Llywydd, thank you very much to the Member for the question. The impact of the cost-of-living crisis will be profound for households in Dwyfor Meirionnydd, especially the poorest households. Incomes suppressed by a decade of austerity will be further eroded by cuts to the value of benefits, rises in national insurance contributions and rapidly rising inflation.

Mabon ap Gwynfor AS: I thank the First Minister for that grave assessment. Research by SukhdevJohal and Karel Williams from Manchester university says something similar, warning us that we will see the cost of fuel for homes increasing by £1,500 per year; fuel costs rising by £500 a year; food increasing by 20 per cent. This suggests that the cost of essentials of life will increase by £3,000 per annum, and this doesn't take into account inflation on other goods. For people on low incomes or universal benefit, this additional £300 a month will be impossible to pay. The economist Richard Murphy paints an even grimmer picture, suggesting that 70 per cent of households could go into debt.
Following the summit organised by the Government on this crisis last month, will you as a Government, and you as First Minister, consider organising something similar, drawing together the health boards, the universities, the third sector, and other bodies who can advise and support, in order to ensure that civil society in Wales does everything within its power to mitigate this crisis?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, thank you very much to Mabon ap Gwynfor. The research that he refers to by Manchester university comes on top of everything else that we've seen, from the Resolution Foundation, the Institute for Public Policy Research and so on, which shows the same thing, namely the major impact the increase in costs of living is going to have on people in Wales.

Mark Drakeford AC: My colleague Jane Hutt led a summit back in February, which drew over 150 people around the table together, to make sure that we had the best possible information from those organisations that provide services for people at the front line, and to make sure that public services were also preparing to play whatever part they could in responding to the emergency—and it will be an emergency—that faces so many families in Wales.

Mark Drakeford AC: Of course, if there will be an opportunity to get people around the table once again, to share information, to make plans together, then the Government will be open to doing that.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy

Vikki Howells AC: 2. Will the First Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's COVID-19 vaccination strategy? OQ57856

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank the Member for that, Llywydd. The Minister for Health and Social Services published the latest COVID-19 vaccination strategy on 24 February. On 14 March, NHS Wales began the roll-out of spring boosters, starting with care home residents, along with the first vaccinations for five to 11-year-olds.

Vikki Howells AC: Thank you for that update, First Minister. Cwm Taf University Health Board is closing two of its community vaccination centres, including the one in Cynon Valley. For my constituents, the closest site now will be Merthyr Tydfil. There are real challenges around public transport links, and some of my constituents would need to catch four buses just to get there.What discussions is Welsh Government having with health boards to ensure that vaccination centres are accessible for all citizens in Wales, and what assessment has the Welsh Government made of the relationship between waning vaccination and rising COVID case numbers?

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank Vikki Howells for that question, Llywydd, and I'll take her final point first, because, after a prolonged period of the number of people falling ill with coronavirus in Wales falling week by week, in the last 10 days we've seen numbers rising again, and not simply rising but rising rapidly and at an accelerating rate. Now, Wales continues to have the lowest incidence of coronavirus of any of the four UK nations, but the numbers that we are seeing are driving more people into hospital, and we've seen the very preliminary signs of more people needing intensive care as well. So, these are very concerning circumstances that we are having to face over this week, as we come to the end of the three-week review.
There are three factors that our advisers point to behind those numbers. The first, and the most significant, is the rise in BA.2—the variant of omicron that is even more transmissible than the original BA.1. There is the impact of vaccine waning, particularly amongst the oldest and most vulnerable parts of the population, because they were vaccinated first and they had their boosters first, and if there is any waning, it hits them first. And then there are the signs that maybe people are not as committed as they were earlier in the pandemic to taking those simple actions—mask wearing, social distancing, and so on, that continue to be, collectively, the most important actions we can take. So, that is part of why the continued vaccination programme is so important—the spring booster campaign, aimed at people aged over 75.
And the point that Vikki Howells made about needing to make sure that vaccination centres continue to be accessible to the whole population is, of course, a very important one. As we move into living safely with COVID, the number of centres is going to have to reduce, and we're going to have to release staff back into all the other important jobs that we expect them to be able to carry out within the health service. In the Cwm Taf health board area, there are significant numbers of people in those categories—3,400 people who will be vaccinated at home because they are housebound. And for people who have no access to their own vehicle and no access to public transport, then the 'vaxi taxi' scheme, operated through Age Connect—so a third sector-led scheme—will be available, to make sure that people in the circumstances set out by Vikki Howells aren't left without any means of accessing that vital vaccination.

Russell George AC: First Minister, I'm sure that I'm not the only Member to have started to receive a steady increase in e-mails from constituents asking when they're going to receive their fourth vaccination. This in itself is positive, of course, that people want to receive their next vaccination. I've heard, of course, your answer to Vikki Howells, in regard to the over-75s receiving that during the spring, but there are many people who are in that age group who are contacting me—and the same will be for other Members as well. And those who are not in that category will want to know when they are receiving their fourth jab as well. My concern is that pressure will be put on health services or GPs or doctors, with residents asking when they're going to receive their fourth jab. So, can you tell me what communication messages the Welsh Government is putting out, and what health boards are putting out, to make sure that people are updated as to when they are likely to receive that first, initial letter for that fourth jab?

Mark Drakeford AC: Thanks to Russell George for that question. As I said in my original answer, the spring booster campaign in Wales began last week, on 14 March, focusing on care home residents in the first instance. We expect, within a further three weeks, to have completed the bulk of care home vaccination. There will be some care homes, because of outbreaks, where there will be some further time needed, but the bulk of care home residents will have received that booster. And then we will continue with the rest of the population. It depends, as I know the Member is aware, on when you had your last vaccination when you get called, because a certain number of weeks have to elapse before it is safe and sensible for you to have the fourth vaccination. We will use all the normal means of communication—directly from health boards, using the Welsh Government's own social media channels, in which the leader of the opposition has shown considerable interest in recent times. We will be using those to make sure that we get that message across, and the key message in Wales is that you will be contacted by the health service; it doesn't rely on you going hunting for an appointment. The health service will come to you, and it will do it, as we've seen through the whole pandemic, very reliably and at the right moment for you.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: Thanks to the success of the vaccination programme, the proportion of people who catch the virus and who become severely ill is relatively lower than it should be, but there is a significant increase, as the First Minister said, in the number of those who are catching the virus at present. I'm hearing about staffing issues in health and care, schools sending children home, one further education college with almost a quarter of the students with COVID at the moment, and a nursery having to limit the children who could attend there for the first time in the entire pandemic. Bearing in mind those circumstances, does the First Minister agree with me that the sensible thing to do in this next three-week review is to not change the rules that we currently have, specifically around wearing a face mask and self-isolation? And is there a suggestion for those who are very concerned about the current increase about any further steps that could also be taken?

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth. The situation that we're facing during this week is challenging, isn't it? Of course, we want to make progress with the plan that we put in place some weeks ago, but the context is changing. And that's why the Cabinet has decided to wait until Thursday for the latest figures and for the latest advice from the chief medical officer, and so on, to help us to make these difficult decisions. It's possible to think of a future where we could move on with certain things whilst retaining others in order to respond to the situation that's arising now. We've all heard of people who can't work and the impact that that has on public services, but also on private business too.
In terms of vulnerable people, the chief medical officer wrote to everyone on the list some weeks ago setting out the latest position. The best thing that we can all do to help people who are anxious about going out after a long period, and who are now hearing about what's happening, is to continue to do those things that we've all learnt to do: to use face coverings, to keep a social distance, to respect others. If vulnerable people feel that others are doing what they can, then I think that that's the best assistance we can provide in order to give them confidence to start socialising again and to do those everyday things that are important to them.

Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Questions now from the party leaders. The leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew R.T. Davies.

Andrew RT Davies AC: Thank you, Presiding Officer. First Minister, we often talk about the consequences of shutting down parts of the NHS to deal with coronavirus, which has left 20 per cent of the Welsh population on an NHS waiting list, and, of those 20 per cent, one in four people are waiting over a year. But none of those lists contain the waiting times for dentistry. The waits have become so chronic that we are seeing people having to fork out hundreds of pounds, if not thousands of pounds, or taking more drastic measures into their own hands to extract teeth.
I'd like to introduce you to Adam, who's from north Wales, who had a similar problem when he tried to access dental services in north Wales. He is a teacher in Bangor, and he tried time and time again to get registered with dental practices in Menai Bridge, Bangor, Llandudno, Penmaenmawr, Colwyn Bay, Caernarfon, and, on each and every occasion, he could not get registered, because the waiting times were in excess of two years at all those practices. Now, when we see dental treatments falling by 70 per cent over the last 12 months, do you agree with me that there is a genuine problem with capacity within the Welsh dental services and people's ability to register with NHS provision?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, NHS dentistry is undoubtedly very challenged at the moment, Llywydd, but it's not so much a capacity issue; it is the circumstances under which dental treatment is carried out. We still have significant numbers of dentists in Wales carrying out NHS dental treatment, but they are simply not able to provide the volumes of treatment that they were in pre-COVID conditions, because, of all the things that the NHS does, the aerosol-generating procedures that dentistry relies upon are the most likely to spread COVID. Therefore, conditions continue to be that dentists have to reduce the number of patients they can see over a day, they have to have longer periods between appointments in order to carry out necessary cleaning, and that is resulting in the very difficult circumstances to which the Member referred.
There is recovery in dentistry. We're back up to about 70 per cent of the volumes that were possible prior to COVID. There are new ways of providing advice to people. I think there are over 2,000 people a week getting over-the-phone advice from their dental practitioner. And there are plans particularly to diversify the dental workforce, which will mean that the capacity we need in future can be brought on stream. In the meantime, the position will continue to be challenging. Despite there being more money in the system, the system isn't able to absorb the money that the health Minister made available to it in this calendar year. Because the money isn't the answer here. There just isn't the time in the day or the hands on deck to be able to do everything that we'd like to see done.

Andrew RT Davies AC: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. You identified that there are challenges within the dental service across Wales, but there are in fact 83 fewer dentists working across Welsh health boards than there were in 2020. This is probably not helped by the Government's new NHS dental contract, which professionals—not myself—say reduces focus on regular check-ups, makes dentists choose between old and new patients, pays dentists based on out-of-date performance data and is funded by a falling amount, 15 per cent less than six years ago. That's according to the British Dental Association. In a letter from the chairman of the Dyfed Powys local dental committee sent to the health Minister, the committee has confirmed—again, it's not me saying this—that all practices in their area are unable to sign the proposed contract, which would result in a cut in capacity of 75 per cent on agreed existing levels. The chairman said—and again, this is the chairman saying it, not myself—that every member is unprepared to compromise on quality of care of their patients. That, as a group, is extremely concerning—that NHS dental services in west Wales are at risk of collapse as soon as next month. That's not me putting that there, that's the chair of the dental profession in the Dyfed Powys health board area. If you accept that there are challenges on this particular issue, why are you introducing a contract that would make the situation worse and potentially create dental deserts in certain parts of Wales?

Mark Drakeford AC: I'm puzzled at the report of the letter, because, as from next month, dentists in Wales have a choice. They are able to take the new contract, but if they feel the new contract does not suit them they will be able to continue with the existing contract. Nobody is being forced to take the new contract. The new contract has been very carefully negotiated with the professional bodies. Many, many dentists believe it is far preferable to the existing contract because it allows them to carry out quality dentistry rather than the treadmill of UDAs—units of dental activity—that drive the existing contract and push dentists into doing routine check-ups, small procedures, rather than practising at the top end of their professional competence. The new contract rewards dentists for preventative work and for doing the things that you need a fully qualified dentist to do. But, if an individual practice believes that the existing contract is the one that works for them, then that will be available to them after 1 April.

Andrew RT Davies AC: Clearly, the chair of the dental profession in the Dyfed Powys health board area really does feel that there is a potential for the collapse of services, hence why he has written on behalf of his members to the health Minister on this particular issue. We cannot forget how difficult it has been to access NHS dentistry before the pandemic. The British Dental Association said last year that access to services for new patients in Wales had more than halved since 2012, dropping to 15 per cent for practices accepting adult patients, and 27 per cent for children accessing dental services. We know that there's the new contract coming through. We know that there are concerns from the British Dental Association and representatives on the ground. We realise that there's a constraint on supply. What exactly can we look forward to over the next 12 months to make sure that those constraints are lifted and that people can access dental services? I've heard it from your backbenchers time and time again, when they've been questioning Ministers, that it's a problem from their own areas. This isn't just the Conservatives standing and saying this. This is across Wales, and action needs to be taken.

Mark Drakeford AC: There are a series of actions that the Welsh Government will be taking. I listened to the first question by the leader of the opposition. The teacher that he identified living in Bangor will be able to take advantage, I hope, of the new centre that will be opening in Bangor—a major new dental centre that will provide a new level of NHS dental provision to people in the north-west of Wales. We will continue to provide more money for dentistry next year—a further £2 million recurring provided by the health Minister to bolster dental provision. And we will, as I said to the Member, press ahead with the liberalisation of the profession. We need a different cadre of professionals in dentistry, able to do the routine work that you do not need a fully qualified dentist to undertake. We have seen in GP services a significant liberalisation of the profession. If you go to a GP surgery now, you are very likely to see the practice pharmacist, the practice physiotherapist, the practice nurse. There is a range of professionals who contribute to the team under the oversight of the general practitioner. We need the same approach in dentistry. We need the skills and abilities of our highly trained dentists to be devoted to doing the things that only a dentist can do, and then, alongside them, to have a wider spread of other allied professionals able to undertake aspects of dental care that don't need a fully qualified dentist, carried out under their supervision. In that way, we will be able to increase the capacity of NHS dentistry and make the best use of the most expensive and most highly qualified staff that we have in that field.

Leader of Plaid Cymru—Adam Price.

Adam Price AC: Diolch, Lywydd. First Minister, on Sunday, I and hundreds of others, including the Minister for Social Justice and the Counsel General, rallied and marched here in Cardiff as part of UN anti-racism day. We heard powerful testimony from family justice campaigners, from trade unionists and community activists, that spoke to the shared experience of structural racism faced every day by black people and other ethnic minorities here in Wales. In listening to those voices, I felt that all institutions in society, including political parties—my own party among them—had failed to properly acknowledge and address the systemic racism to be found in almost every sphere, from politics to health, to education and the economy. As a powerfully symbolic, but also practical, step to achieve that shared aspiration to become an anti-racist nation, will you commit to Wales joining Scotland in incorporating into law the UN's convention on the eradication of all forms of racial discrimination?

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank the Member for that. It was very good to read the accounts of the march on Sunday—a march that Members here will know commemorates the Sharpeville massacre, which took place in 1960. It is fantastic, I think, to see that continuing to be commemorated here in Wales. I was able to talk to my colleague Jane Hutt, who opened the speeches at the rally, and I know that the Counsel General spoke when the marchers made their way down to the Senedd. I read accounts of what the leader of Plaid Cymru said at the march as well.
In our race equality action plan, the advice, I think, that we have drawn on from people with lived experience of racism is that we have to move beyond a commitment not to be racist to a commitment to be positively anti-racist in the way that we organise ourselves as political parties, as public services. That is there to be seen on all the pages, I think, of the redrawn plan—redrawn as a result of the consultation exercise that we've carried out. I am absolutely happy, of course, to discuss the specific point that the Member has raised and to do so with that group of people who we've been able to draw on so powerfully in shaping the plan, because it's their lived experience that speaks throughout it. It also responds, I hope, to their determination that the action plan should, as well as having some important declaratory and symbolic actions, be really a practical plan, that it focuses on those things that we can do, tangible and practical actions, grounded in fundamental change. That's what they tell us they really want to see happening here in Wales.

Adam Price AC: On the same weekend as our anti-racism rally, South Wales Police, supported by the police and crime commissioner, decided it was an appropriate time to restart in the city centre the use of facial recognition technology that it had been forced to halt by the Court of Appeal because of concerns over its inbuilt racial bias. According to the UK Government's own biometrics and forensics ethics group, the lack of representation of ethnic minority faces in the training data on which the technology used by the police is based means it is more likely to identify innocent black people as criminals. This will exacerbate the racial disproportionality in rates of detention that you, yourself, have acknowledged. In Scotland, the use of this technology is banned for this reason. We lack the power to do so currently in Wales, but will you at least support the prohibition of its use on publicly owned land like the Senedd steps, where the rally was held on Sunday?

Mark Drakeford AC: I'm very well aware of the concerns that surround face recognition technology, and I think those concerns deserve to be taken very seriously. I know that my colleague Jane Hutt has had an opportunity to discuss this and allied matters with the lead PCC for Wales, Dafydd Llywelyn, and we will continue to make sure those concerns are properly represented to PCCs, and indeed to chief constables where it's an operational matter.

Adam Price AC: While the spectre of fascism is stalking Europe again, the comedian Jimmy Carr is still refusing to apologise for implying that the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Gypsies at the hands of the Nazis was somehow something to be celebrated. Next Monday, he is performing in our capital city at St David's Hall. Welsh Gypsies are asking the venue to cancel the performance in solidarity with them. St David's Hall is owned and managed by Cardiff Council and subsidised by the Arts Council of Wales, which the Welsh Government funds. As First Minister, and indeed as leader of the Labour Party in Wales, will you ask the Labour leadership of Cardiff Council to agree to the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities' entirely reasonable demand, in the circumstances, that no publicly funded venue should be a platform for an unrepentant purveyor of racist tropes? If they refuse to do so, will you ask the arts council to urgently review the terms of its funding?

Mark Drakeford AC: The views attributed to the individual are absolutely unacceptable and would be condemned by anybody, I think, in this Chamber. We spoke only last week about our concerns for Gypsy/Traveller communities, and we discussed those at some length in the policing board for Wales, which my colleague Jane Hutt and I attended. If it were as simple as issuing an edict and putting things right, then of course we would be able to do that, but I know from what I have heard from Cardiff Council that it simply isn't as easy as that. The views expressed are abhorrent to my colleagues in Cardiff Council, as they are to all of us here, and I'm sure that those sentiments will be powerfully conveyed.

Children in Care

Rhys ab Owen AS: 3. What work is the Welsh Government undertaking to reduce the number of children in care in Wales? OQ57822

Mark Drakeford AC: Thank you to Rhys ab Owen for the question. Too many children are removed from their families into the care system in Wales. Numbers have risen year on year over the last two decades. The Thomas commission provided a powerful analysis of this unhappy history, and with our local government partners we continue to pursue the policies that it proposed.

Rhys ab Owen AS: Thank you very much, First Minister, and I know that this is something very close to your own heart, and that you have been working to try and identify the problem.

Rhys ab Owen AS: The recent research by the Children's Social Care Research and Development Centre at Cardiff University commissioned by the Welsh Government saw an increase of 87 per cent in the rate of children in care from 2004 to 2020. And what surprises me is the huge variation within local authorities—so, Torfaen, an increase of 251 per cent, whilst Carmarthenshire has no increase whatsoever—and the local variations between somewhere like Torfaen and Newport. The fact that a child in Torfaen is five times more likely to enter the care system than a child in Carmarthenshire is totally wrong. Now, this information is not new; as you mentioned, it was in the Thomas report, something I became aware of around four years ago. So, can we please have an update from your programme for government of what you're doing to reduce the risk of children entering the care system, and why do we have such a huge variation between local authorities in Wales? Diolch yn fawr.

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, thank you very much to Rhys ab Owen.

Mark Drakeford AC: This is a really very significant matter of public policy here in Wales and he's absolutely right: the difference between different local authorities in Wales is absolutely striking and, to my mind, answers the point that is sometimes made that what the figures reflect are just different socioeconomic conditions in different parts of Wales. If that were the case, how would that explain the outstanding success of Neath Port Talbot council in more recent times in driving down the numbers that they have in care, with a further 21 per cent reduction in the last year alone? How does that explain why a council like Carmarthenshire has, throughout the period of devolution, succeeded in keeping its numbers down, while other councils with very similar characteristics have seen such sharp rises? Well, here are three possible explanations for it, Llywydd. One, and I think the most significant, is local practice cultures. It's just—. I was lucky enough to visit, with my colleague Julie Morgan, Carmarthenshire council and to talk to front-line workers and their supervisors, and the strength of the local culture, determined to do everything it could to keep families reunited, was, I think, the most powerful reason why it has had that success.
Then there is local leadership. In Neath Port Talbot, the point at which their numbers begin to fall is associated in my mind with the appointment of a new director of social services and a new leader of children's services, and they have demonstrated a powerful determination to turn around the pattern that they inherited as a council.
And then thirdly—and this is in the Thomas review, as the Member will know—there is the practice of the courts as well, and that varies from part of Wales to part of Wales, and we have to be able to draw into the conversation judges who sit in the family division. The president of the family division at a England-and-Wales level has recently said that it is the single most important issue in front of him to understand and address the rise in reception of children into care across the whole of England and Wales. And the position in Wales, Llywydd, is worse: we take more children away from their families in Wales, and we've done it at an accelerating rate compared to parts of England that look like comparable parts of Wales. That is why the issue is so urgent, but it's also why we can have some optimism about it. Things can be and are being done differently and we need that better approach to be adopted throughout Wales.

Natasha Asghar AS: First Minister, in June last year, it was reported that Wales has the highest proportion of children in the UK being cared for by the state. There were 7,170 children being looked after away from home in Wales, which is actually 1.14 per cent of the children. As you and my colleague Rhys ab Owen mentioned, the rate has increased significantly here in Wales, and this trend is a cause for concern, particularly the impact on the outcomes for children who are taken into care in terms of educational attainment, health, unemployment, homelessness and criminal justice. However, there are local significant variations across local authorities here in Wales. Evidence suggests that these differences are linked to the interaction between safeguarding practices, levels of deprivation and parental factors, and there tends to be a greater emphasis in Wales on finding permanent placements for children, rather than achieving reunification between birth families and their children, even though reunification is desired by many families.
So, First Minister, since the responsibility for children in care does not fall into social services departments alone—and I know you mentioned in your previous answer the focus is on local governments, as well as the courts—and that a range of agencies do in fact provide services for children and families at risk, what is the Government specifically doing to improve working practices to facilitate better experiences and outcomes for those who come into contact with these services? Thank you.

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Llywydd, there are already things that we are doing as a Government. That includes the focus that my colleague Julie Morgan has brought to do this over the last three years. It includes working with the ADSS, the Association of Directors of Social Services, to promote the things that we know work in different parts of Wales. It's striking to me that in Carmarthenshire, which we mentioned earlier, there is a single director in charge of both education and social services, making sure that schools play their part in helping those families to stay together. In the budget that was passed on the floor of the Senedd here only last week, we have a new funding stream to provide advocacy for families at risk of having their children taken into public care, to make sure that, when those decisions are being made, the voice of the family is heard as powerfully as any professional involved in that decision. That's just one of a range of actions, Llywydd, that we are taking, and the determination of the Welsh Government to align ourselves with the need to reduce the number of children in public care in Wales is unwavering.

John Griffiths AC: First Minister, would you agree with me that, when children are in residential care, the policy direction of Newport City Council is appropriate? Through its Project Perthyn, it's bringing provision of care for looked-after children back in-house, with out-of-authority placements returning to new Newport City Council homes. It's bringing those children back to their home areas, families and schools and providing top-quality care. Would you agree this is the right approach for our young people and in terms of the recent Competition and Markets Authority report on the children's social care market, which shows local authorities being overcharged by private providers, with profit margins of 22.6 per cent and average charges of around £3,830 per week?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, I do congratulate Newport council. Over the last decade, it has stood out as one of those authorities that has taken a range of actions to focus on helping families get through those difficult times that all families face, and where the repair of that damage, rather than rescuing children from it, is in the long-term interests of the child. And what they're doing in Project Perthyn is a very good example of that.
I want to pay tribute for a moment, Llywydd, if I could, to the children's commissioner Sally Holland, Professor Sally Holland, who's about to retire after seven years in that role, and there'll be an event here at the Senedd next week to mark that occasion. It's the power of her reports, reflecting the views of young people in care themselves, that lead this Government to have a commitment to eliminate private profit making from the care of children in Wales.
Now, the Competition and Markets Authority conclude from their report, which shows just how badly the market is working, that what you need is the market to work better. Of course, we conclude the opposite: what you need is not to have a market in the care of children. Markets are just not the right method to provide for those vulnerable young people. And the work that Newport is doing is very important in that.
Eliminating profit is about values as well as cost. It's about putting needs ahead of what is profitable. There's £10 million in the budget to help local authorities in this transition, in this transition, and amongst that will be—. I'm thinking of the point that Natasha Asghar mentioned; we now have plans in from six of the seven regional partnership boards, which we will fund, to create new regional centres where we can draw children, not simply keeping children in their own families, but we can draw children who are looked after outside of their county back into their county, closer to their families; we can draw children who are paid for very expensively outside of Wales closer to where those families live. Those regional centres will be really important in providing a resource where those young people can be looked after properly and successfully, and we're on a journey here, definitely, but I'm very encouraged to see that six of those seven regional partnership boards have put forward proposals and that we as a Welsh Government are committed to funding them.

A New Health Centre in Holyhead

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: 4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the development of a new health centre in Holyhead? OQ57829

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth. Llywydd, we are committed to investing in a new generation of integrated health and social care centres across Wales. In these centres, front-line health and social care centres will be co-located with other services. The project board leading discussion on such a development in Holyhead continues to meet monthly.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: Nearly three years have passed since Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board had to take direct control of the Longford Road and Cambria surgeries in Holyhead, and, yes, it's been a period of unprecedented challenge for primary care everywhere. But, for nearly three years now, patients at those two surgeries have had to receive a standard of care way below what they should be able to expect. Yes, there's a new urgent primary care centre on the way to Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley, but that's different. And yes, the staff at Longford Road and Cambria are doing everything that they can in very, very difficult circumstances. But we need a new multidisciplinary primary healthcare centre that can attract staff and provide the necessary services, and we need it urgently. I've been pursuing this for, yes, nearly three years now, but, at a recent meeting with the health board, it became clear to me that things are moving very, very slowly indeed. Can the First Minister tell me when he would expect the people of Holyheadwho are patients at those surgeries, to receive the standard of service that they should be able to expect? And what can he do to bring about that investment urgently—an investment that I've been calling for for such a long time?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, I thank the Member for that. I think the last time he asked me a question of this sort, I was able to tell him that there were plans to recruit new GPs to support the service in Holyhead, and I'm at least pleased to be able to tell him today that the three GPs who were expected to be recruited at that time have now all been recruited, the last one joining in January. I'm also glad to say that project Flex, which is a project being run in that part of Wales that offers flexible contracts to retired GPs—and we know that many GPs have retired early from the profession because of the pension arrangements forced on them by the UK Government—to find flexible ways in which they can come back into the workforce and to provide services, and there are already GPs in that category working in Holyhead.
The long-term answer is the one that Rhun ap Iorwerth has identified: the new centre. The note that I have had tells me that the board—the project board, not the local health board, the project board; it's not just the health board, it is the local authority, it is the town council, it is other local interests—they will go out to a public engagement in May. They've got to wait until then because of the local authority elections, but they've got to a point where they're able to go out and have that public engagement. There are a number of sites that they have in mind; they'll all be familiar to the local Member. They will then have to put that case to the regional partnership board and the regional partnership board will put its proposals to the Welsh Government. I don't think that there is a great deal that the Welsh Government can do to accelerate that process, because it has to be fair to everybody who may wish to make a bid for one of the new centres. But the process is now clear and I look forward to it resulting in a specific proposal that comes to Welsh Government that we will be able to consider with, I've no doubt, other compelling cases that will be made by other parts of north Wales.

The Cost of Living

Ken Skates AC: 5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the rising cost of living on people in Clwyd South? OQ57861

Mark Drakeford AC: Llywydd, the cost-of-living crisis is affecting people across Wales, including in Clwyd South. Tomorrow’s spring statement must include actions to provide help for those least able to manage the crisis in the most essential aspects of daily life, widening access to food and to fuel for those who otherwise will be forced to go without.

Ken Skates AC: Diolch, First Minister. And you will be aware, I'm sure, of data from the 'Crunch Point' report from Citizens Advice, which shows that 14.5 million people—one in five people in Britain—won't be able to afford their energy bills when prices rise in October, just as we enter winter. And by then, a single person in receipt of benefits will be spending up to 47 per cent of their universal credit on energy bills. Households on prepayment meters will be particularly hard hit, and so, of course, children, the elderly and disabled people are likely to face the harshest of winters unless action is taken.
First Minister, no Government should allow its people to freeze or starve, but that's exactly what's going to happen unless the Prime Minister and the Chancellor take immediate and dramatic action on energy costs. And I'm concerned that those who are struggling should not stay hidden, away from view, or deprived of essential support. First Minister, are you aware of what data is collected by energy companies regarding self-rationing of energy supplies, or indeed self-disconnection?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Llywydd, I thank Ken Skates for that powerful additional question. Of course, he is right: in the spring statement tomorrow, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has an opportunity to do those practical things that would make the biggest difference in the lives of those people who need that help the most. My colleagues Jane Hutt and Julie James wrote, together, to the Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy back on 11 January, with six different practical actions that the UK Government could take that would lead immediately to relief for people who face the greatest challenge.
But, Llywydd, Ken Skates has identified, to my mind, one of the most concerning sub-groups within that population: people who rely on prepayment meters for their energy supply. The latest figures that I have suggest that prepayment-meter users will be spending £10 every day to top up their meter. If you're a single person living on benefits, you have £77.29 for the whole of the week for absolutely everything. So, they will not be paying £10 a day, they will be going without. That is the only way that they will be able to manage. Their bills will be rising from £1,309 currently to £2,017 after April.
And I'm afraid the answer to Ken Skates's question is that there are no figures kept of people who self-disconnect. For far too long, the energy companies have sheltered behind the comfortable fiction that people reliant on prepayment meters choose to disconnect, whereas we know perfectly well that it's the only way in which they are able to manage. And people face a very, very bleak winter in those circumstances.
Llywydd, some years ago, when I was involved in some university research on this matter, I was involved with the Fire Brigades Union, which published a report into child death numbers—child deaths caused by people forced to self-disconnect because they couldn't feed the meter, who used candles in bedrooms, where curtains caught fire and children died. You know, that is the circumstances in which many families in Wales will find themselves again after next month. If there's anything more urgent on the Chancellor's table, it's hard to imagine what it could be than making sure there is proper help for families facing those very, very bleak choices.

Young Workers

Jack Sargeant AC: 6. How is the Welsh Government supporting young workers in Wales? OQ57854

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank Jack Sargeant, Llywydd, for that. Implementing the young person's guarantee, investing in skills, funding personal learning accounts, and making Wales a fair work nation are amongst the actions we are taking to support young workers in every part of Wales.

Jack Sargeant AC: Diolch yn fawr, Prif Weinidog. The Resolution Foundation recently carried out research that found, after COVID hit, people under the age of 34 are more likely to face unemployment or precarious work. I'm sure our colleague from across the Chamber Tom Giffard will have seen that I've used my own social media channels to reach out to young people, asking them for their own experiences. First Minister, what came back was not good reading.
One respondent told me that whilst working in the hospitality sector during the pandemic, they were discouraged from wearing a mask and told it would, and I quote, First Minister, 'affect tips for female workers'. Another young person talked about being forced into a fake and exploitative apprenticeship, stating, and again, I quote,
'They didn't even sign me up for the course, so I was just paid half the wage for the same work and got no training.'
A common issue many faced was precarious contracts, with one individual applying for a job advertised at 40 hours a week, only to receive an offer of a zero-hours contract.
First Minister, I can see that I'm out of time here, but I could go on. The research and the responses highlight clearly that we need more workplace protections and for employees to join a trade union. I'm going to continue this work and campaign for change. Will you join me, First Minister, in taking this message to the UK Government, that you can't level up by allowing poor employers to behave disgracefully like this?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Llywydd, I congratulate Jack Sargeant on the work that he's carried out himself with young people, and the points he makes have surely been given even more urgency in this last week by the actions of employers at P&O. There'll be people from his constituency, there in the north-east of Wales, who have earned their living in Liverpool, where P&O operate. I heard the former Conservative Minister Ros Altmann on the radio this morning calling for further action against the company, particularly a refusal to allow the parent company to become involved in the freeports plans of the UK Government. There's a practical way in which a Government could demonstrate its determination that the sorts of responses that you heard from Jack Sargeant there are not replicated elsewhere. We certainly call on the UK Government to use its reserved powers in employment rights to make sure that people's rights, young people's rights are properly respected in the workforce. And joining a trade union is the single most effective action that a young person can take to make sure that they have the help and the support that they would need, were they to face the sorts of circumstances that Jack Sargeant has outlined this afternoon.

The Cost of the School Day

Carolyn Thomas AS: 7. How is the Welsh Government supporting parents in north Wales with the cost of the school day? OQ57858

Mark Drakeford AC: Llywydd, our access fund, helping families with the cost of the school day, will enter its fifth year next month. Over that time, it has been progressively expanded. The latest development, a £100 uplift per child to help address this year’s cost-of-living crisis, was announced by my colleague the education Minister on 14 March.

Carolyn Thomas AS: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. Families in north Wales are feeling the pinch thanks to the Tory cost-of-living crisis. I welcome the additional support that the Welsh Labour Government has put in place to help with costs related to the school day. The additional funding to extend free school meals in holidays, the cash boost to help with school costs and the extension of the childcare offer will provide relief to those who are worried about the impact of rising costs. First Minister, do you agree with me and the money saving expert Martin Lewis that for those on the lowest incomes this cost-of-living crisis is not something that money management can fix, but is instead something that desperately needs UK Government intervention? Thank you.

Mark Drakeford AC: Llywydd, I thank Carolyn Thomas for the welcome that she has given to the latest actions that the Welsh Government is able to take. I visited a school in my own constituency on Friday last week in a very challenged community, where the welcome for the £100 extra per child was very warm indeed. It really will allow families to participate in the opportunities that the school can provide in a way that other families are simply able to take for granted. And this was a school, Llywydd, where the extended school day had been in operation, and it was great to see the enthusiasm of the staff in that school for the way in which that funding, that expanded day, had allowed them to put those opportunities in front of young people who simply wouldn't get them without that way of having them provided.
The Welsh Government, Llywydd, does so much in so many areas to leave money in the pockets of families who otherwise would have to pay for their prescriptions, for their free breakfasts, for their school uniforms—all those things that allow families to manage the other demands that we've been talking about this afternoon. The supplementary question, Llywydd, ended by Carolyn Thomas saying that the UK Government needs to take action itself, and I absolutely echo that, and as we've said already this afternoon, there's an opportunity coming for them tomorrow in the spring statement to demonstrate just what a Government with the interests of its population at heart can do to protect them.

The Health Service in Pembrokeshire

Paul Davies AC: 8. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's immediate priorities for the health service in Pembrokeshire? OQ57816

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank Paul Davies for the question, Llywydd. Immediate priorities for the health service in Pembrokeshire include delivery of the latest phase of the COVID vaccination programme and the continued restoration of wider, more routine services.

Paul Davies AC: First Minister, earlier on today, in response to the leader of the opposition, you said that the new dental contract has been carefully negotiated, but like others, I've been contacted by local dentists in my constituency who are frustrated with changes to this contract and have warned that these changes could have a detrimental impact on the delivery of services in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area. Now, in a nutshell, the local health board is proposing to reduce practices' contract values to 25 per cent of the agreed existing levels, as well as targeting practices with additional targets and measures, and, of course, these changes will now come into force from 1 April. I listened very, very carefully to your earlier answers, but it's clear from the concerns I've received that dentists are worried about these changes that could have a negative impact on the delivery of services in Pembrokeshire. So, First Minister, what steps will you now take to alleviate these immediate concerns so that dentists in my constituency can provide much needed dental services?

Mark Drakeford AC: Llywydd, I do take seriously the points that the Member has raised. As I explained earlier, the Welsh Government's role is to fund the service, and we are doing that with additional investment next year. It is then for local health boards to carry out the direct negotiations with the people who provide those services. There are choices that dentists will be able to make, as I explained in my answers to the leader of the opposition. My response to the points that Paul Davies has raised is that those people who have those concerns need to be around the table with their local health board to reach a resolution that maximises the impact that the investment the Welsh Government is making can have on the provision of dental services to make sure that people in the Pembrokeshire area have access to the service that they need.

I thank the First Minister.

2. Business Statement and Announcement

The next item, therefore, is the business statement and announcement, and I call on the Trefnydd to make the statement. Lesley Griffiths.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Diolch, Llywydd. There is one change to this week's business: the statement on the Commission on Justice in Wales and the Law Commission report on Welsh Tribunals has been postponed. Draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Peter Fox AS: Trefnydd, could I ask for two statements from the Minister for Health and Social Services, please? Firstly, I would like to request a statement regarding access to GP services. Recently, a constituent contacted me after their family tried to get an appointment at a GP surgery, only to be told that a nurse would call them back with a phone appointment arranged for three weeks after the person had tried to get an appointment. I understand that GPs are facing significant demands, as they normally do, but a number of constituents have raised with me their difficulties obtaining a GP appointment, and particularly the ability to see a doctor face to face. Not everyone can use a mobile phone or have access to the internet, so it's important that people can see their doctor in a timely manner in a way that meets their needs.
Secondly, Trefnydd, could I request an urgent statement regarding services at the Grange University Hospital? It's completely regrettable that I have to inform the Chamber of yet another heartbreaking story of a constituent who has been let down by issues at the hospital. That particular story involves a constituent's 99-year-old mother, who has since, sadly, passed away. She waited over eight hours for an ambulance to arrive with a broken hip. She then was forced to wait outside the hospital in a cold ambulance for a number of hours. Her daughter meanwhile tried phoning the hospital to find out what had happened, yet every department that she needed to contact didn't answer. I want to make clear that this is not the fault of staff, doctors and nurses, but of the lack of adequate structures in place, which need to finally be addressed by both the health board and the Welsh Government. The Government and the health board need to get a grip because people deserve better, and we shouldn't have to keep raising constantly these issues in the Chamber and finding that nothing is being done about them and no improvement.So, I regret, Trefnydd, that I will be raising these things further if we can't get a statement and some progress on these things. Thank you, Llywydd.

Lesley Griffiths AC: I thank Peter Fox for those two requests. In relation to access to GP services, you'll be aware that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic constituents have been able to access their GP via telephone consultations, via video consultations. And, of course, it's not always a GP that somebody needs to see; it's really important that they see the most appropriate person, and sometimes that's not a general practitioner. But I do hope that we will be able to see far more face-to-face consultations taking place as we come out of the pandemic. And you're quite right—not everybody has access to technology, and it's a matter, I personally think, for each GP surgery to ensure that patients are able to access the services.
In relation to the Grange hospital, it was certainly horrific to hear your story about your constituent, and the Minister for Health and Social Services is in the Chamber and has heard that. I actually think you should write to her about the specific case, but the Minister will have heard the general points you made, both about the Grange hospital and the ambulance service.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: I'd like a written statement by the Minister for health in response to concerns that I havein terms of the pace at which the Betsi Cadwaladr health board has responded to enquiries and complaints. There's one case that stands out specifically, relating to an enquiry on behalf of a constituent who suffers from long COVID. We're still waiting for a full response to an enquiry from May 2021 about the treatment and support available to her as a constituent. There's another family waiting since November for a response to a complaint about the treatment their late mother received whilst a patient at Ysbyty Gwynedd. They have concerns regarding fundamental lessons about care that need to be learnt, and they feel very frustrated that they're still waiting for a response.
There are many similar examples, I'm afraid. We shouldn't be having to raise them here, if truth be told; they should be resolved by the health board. I'd like a review to be held of the processes being followed, and for a statement to reflect the findings of that review.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. I agree—timely responses are very important when we're dealing with very emotive issues quite often. I think that the most appropriate way forward would be for the Minister for Health and Social Services to raise this with the chair of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in their regular meetings.

Jenny Rathbone AC: As the Welsh Government is now a supersponsor for receiving Ukrainian refugees, we do hope that we'll now be able to see people arriving in this country in order to take up the very kind offers that so many people across Wales have given. In light of the expected arrival of these people who really need our support, I wondered if we could have a statement from the economy Minister about whether or not it would be possible to allow greater flexibility in the ReAct funding criteria for allowing refugees to access English-for-speakers-of-other-languages lessons, which would also pick up the slack we have in some of our languages schools who haven't been able to recruit as may foreign students because of the enduring impact of COVID.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. As you're aware, the Welsh Government has indeed been given supersponsor status, and I know my colleague Jane Hutt, the Minister for Social Justice, has been working very closely and very hard with the UK Government to ensure that we are able to receive people from horrific circumstances who are in absolute desperate need. I know officials are working very closely with ESOL providers and the education sector right across Wales to assess what existing capacity in schools there are in the system, and to take any necessary action to ensure that they can provide that immediate and longer term support to those Ukrainians who come to Wales. That does include work to ensure those arriving have access to appropriate support, including housing, healthcare, childcare, education, benefits and employability, and that does include the ReAct programme.

James Evans MS: Trefnydd, I would like to ask for a statement from the Minister for Climate Change, outlining that she will not be looking at the issue of the 10 per cent charge in the private sale of park homes. I have talked to park home residents right across my constituency about this. This has been going on since 2013. Park home residents have been waiting nine years for this unfair charge to be removed from the statute book. Park homes are still allowed to demand 10 per cent of the sale price from private individuals who live in park homes. The Minister at the time, Rebecca Evans, decided, after much consultation, that the 10 per cent would be reduced to 5 per cent maximum over the course of five years—this was to be fair to both parties. So, can you ask the Minister to come to the Chamber to explain why she will not be looking at this again and why park home owners are being neglected and let down time and time again?

Lesley Griffiths AC: I will certainly speak to the Minister for Climate Change. My understanding is that, with a huge number of programme for government commitments, et cetera, within her portfolio, this was something that she didn't feel she could give resources to, certainly for the short term, and then maybe the longer term in the term of Government. So, I will ask her if she would provide a written statement clarifying the position.

Siân Gwenllian AC: May I ask for a written statement from the Minister for health, outlining the steps that she has taken since the tragic news of another two very serious incidents in the vascular unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd emerged last week? Patients, their families, and the public in Arfon, and beyond, need assurances that the Government is turning every stone to ensure that the unit is safe and that conducting treatments in Liverpool is a temporary solution. These two incidents come in the wake of damning reports and after the Minister announced that the unit was to be placed in special measures of significant intervention. So, isn't it now time to raise that level of intervention to the highest possible level at once, rather than waiting another two months, as the Minister appears to be doing? We need to be convinced that everything possible is being done, and being done as a matter of urgency.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Well, as I think you just referred to in your question, the Minister for Health and Social Services has given the health board three months to address these issues, with immediate effect. We are now one month into that, and I know she has had a first monthly update from the health board, and she also met with the chair of the health board to discuss the matter earlier this month. I know she was very disappointed to hear about further issues with vascular services, and certainly our thoughts are very much with the families who have been affected. I know, again, the Minister welcomed the support offered by Liverpool vascular service network, and will continue to monitor the situation very carefully. She'll be due a further update and I'm sure then will either reconsider or continue with the way that she has set out to the health board to manage the situation.

Joyce Watson AC: Minister, I'd like to ask for a statement on school meal standards at Ysgol Dyffryn Taf in Whitland, or rather the lack of standards. Recent reports in the press have shown some pretty disturbing images of undercooked and watery food, including meat, which has been served to pupils in recent weeks. And if that wasn't bad enough, many pupils and parents have said that the portion sizes are tiny, leaving the children hungry. We know how important it is to have a good meal, and a full stomach allows pupils to learn and also to concentrate, and, for some pupils, we also know that this will be their main meal of the day. It's been reported that many pupils have simply been going without lunch due to the poor quality of that food, and, according to the school website, the canteen is run by Carmarthenshire County Council. I understand that the headteacher is in talks with the local authority regarding the issue and hot meals have been suspended for the early part of this week. That, in my opinion, is totally unacceptable and pupils will not be able to access any hot food. It is a serious issue, and raises some serious questions that I would urge the Welsh Government to raise with the school and with the local authority. And it took pupils to share their images and their concerns on social media for them to realise that this food was completely inadequate and, in some cases, arguably, unfit for human consumption. So, following on from this scandal—and it is a scandal—I would also like to request that the Welsh Government makes sure that it's not happening in other schools across Wales, and that pupils are being offered nutritious, high-quality meals that actually are fit for human consumption and also fill them up.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. I know the Minister for Education and Welsh Language is aware of the case that you refer to, and obviously consuming a more nutritious diet during the school day is absolutely necessary for a variety of reasons, which you've referred to. Welsh Government has the Healthy Eating in Schools (Nutritional Standards and Requirements) (Wales) Regulations 2013. They set out the types of food and drink that may be provided during the school day and define the nutrient content of school lunches that are provided for pupils. And the whole point of that is to improve the nutritional standards that are served in schools across Wales, and to ensure that our children and young people are offered healthy food throughout the entire school day. I know the Minister's officials have been working with the local authority to make sure that this does not happen again, and it is really important that, if we look at any changes that are needed, the main thing is to look at how we have better compliance with regulations across Wales, and they will be looked at as part of monitoring of our school food.

Mike Hedges AC: I'm asking for a statement from the Welsh Government following the decision of the High Court yesterday not to accept the injunction it applied for in relation to ensuring the power can stay on at Baglan Energy Park until a new connection has been completed. Many of my constituents are employed in the numerous businesses that are based in the energy park, and this decision now puts their future on hold at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is already causing concern. Yesterday's decision now opens the door to the official receivers to start cutting off power to those businesses, and the implication of that could be the loss of over 1,000 well-paid jobs, as businesses are no longer able to continue operating. Therefore, it is important that the Welsh Government provides an update to the Senedd on what actions it will now take to protect those jobs in the local economy. This decision will also have a huge effect upon the environment and air quality as alternative energy sources are brought in, which will almost certainly be very poor for the environment.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. I know the Minister for Economy and his officials have been working very closely on this matter, and the Minister for Economy will be publishing a written statement today.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) took the Chair.

Diolch, Trefnydd.

3. Statement by the Minister for Economy: Progressing the Economic Resilience and Reconstruction Mission

Item 3 this afternoon is a statement by the Minister for Economy: progressing with the economic resilience and reconstruction mission. I call on the Minister, Vaughan Gething.

Vaughan Gething AC: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Last year, my predecessor published our cross-Government economic mission. It was clear then that a return to business as usual was not an option.The response to the pandemic has accelerated many of the existing trends across decarbonisation, digitisation and the impact of an ageing population. For businesses, the pandemic also brought very real trauma. The resilience shown by so many is remarkable and serves as a testament to the creativity and passion that drives businesses across Wales.
The Welsh Government has since committed to progressing the mission in a new programme for government, and Members will recall the statement I provided on this last October. In that statement, I set out my ambition to create the conditions where more people feel confident about planning their futures in Wales. In the face of a volatile recovery, I also made clear our commitment to provide as much certainty as we can to help businesses plan ahead.

Vaughan Gething AC: As we know, in the weeks that followed, omicron turned economies back into emergency mode as we responded to the latest wave of COVID with actions delivered in partnership, based on evidence. This included a further round of business support with packages only available in Wales, such as the economic resilience fund. Similar funds, of course, were not available in England.Despite this setback, we have continued to move ahead with our mission to help create a stronger, greener and fairer Welsh economy. Earlier this month, I published a new plan for employability and skills backed by major investment in a more inclusive labour market, and Members will be familiar with that given the oral statement I made at the time. Against a difficult financial backdrop, I've had to make tough decisions to prioritise the job of narrowing the skills divide, helping more people to find work and boosting the career prospects of those already in work. We are investing £1.7 billion in the young person's guarantee. This package includes £366 million to help deliver 125,000 all-age apprenticeships within this Senedd term.
As you know, Deputy Presiding Officer, accessible childcare is crucial to a stronger, fairer economy. The Deputy Minister for Social Services has confirmed that we will expand our childcare offer to support more families. This means that more families, and women in particular, will benefit from improved employment prospects. We've also provided an additional £5 million for personal learning accounts, to help workers on low pay upskill in sectors experiencing labour market shortages, with examples ranging from HGV drivers to health and social care. I'm also working closely with my colleague the Minister for Education and Welsh Language on the progress of the establishment of the commission for tertiary education and research. This should put us in a better position to prioritise investments that improve educational attainment, develop the skills needed for good jobs, and inspire more ambitious career plans for people of all ages. Wales continues to have the most progressive student finance scheme in the UK, and we're keen to maintain this whilst considering how best to support an improved lifelong learning offer.
As I said in October, we want to ensure that our whole-Government approach allows more people to feel positive and ambitious about planning their future here in Wales. Graduate retention can help us in this mission, and we're working with partners to more effectively link students with the right opportunities at Welsh businesses. The new work route initiative offers international students the ability to stay in the UK and work for two years after they graduate. My ambition is that we can find ways for these workers to move on to full skilled worker visas so that we can go on benefiting from their contribution in a more dynamic Welsh economy.
As I have noted, this progress has been made in spite of the urgent response that omicron demanded of us. As CBI Wales have recognised, the Welsh Government’s approach to the pandemic has treated public health and economic growth as two sides of the same coin. Since the start of the pandemic, we have pulled every lever possible to back Welsh businesses. We reprioritised our budgets and repurposed funding to make sure financial support was available where it was needed most. As we move ahead, the new transition plan sets out how we will approach the task of living with coronavirus. We will continue to work on the basis of evidence, and that means working intensively this week to understand what the latest increase in cases means for the balance of harms that we currently face.
In recent months, we've also delivered schemes designed to support individuals and businesses to look ahead, including: the backing local firms fund, progressing our commitment to the foundational economy; a £1 million business start-up fund, focused on those not in employment, education or training; an extra £0.5 million to support and promote the social enterprise sector; and a £116 million package of non-domestic rates relief for retail, leisure and hospitality ratepayers in Wales. This is in additionto the publication of new regional economic frameworks to strengthen Wales’s distinctive economic regions and the refreshed economic contract.
Our economy has emerged from an unprecedented downturn due to the pandemic, and our unemployment rate continues to track lower than the rest of the UK. However, I remain deeply concerned by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and we are already seeing GDP forecasts for the UK being halved. Tomorrow, the Chancellor will make his spring statement, and I urge him to do more before the crisis spins completely out of control. The Welsh Government has stretched its budget to provide a further package of support worth more than £330 million, but the UK Government holds the key levers through the tax and benefit system.
Rising energy and fuel costs must now spur action to accelerate the transition to net zero. Tackling the climate and nature emergency as part of a just transition to net zero is also the overarching ambition of our new £8.1 billion infrastructure investment strategy. Our progress also risks being further held back by the UK Government's determination to deny Wales our promised share of EU replacement funds in full. At least £375 million per year should have been provided to the Welsh Government, but UK levelling-up plans will leave the Welsh budget £1 billion worse off by 2024.
Deputy Presiding Officer, in the coming days and months, we'll also be publishing a new remote working strategy followed by a strategic vision for retail, among wider actions. Our social partnership approach has a crucial role in everything we have achieved, and I look forward to working in partnership to support a team Wales recovery, built by all of us. Thank you.

Conservative spokesperson, Paul Davies.

Paul Davies AC: Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd. Can I thank the Minister for his statement today? As we start to adjust to life post pandemic, it's important that the right foundations are created in order to nurture and support Welsh businesses for the future, and it's not just a question of responding to the pandemic, but also tackling the long-standing issues that businesses across Wales have been facing, such as the climate emergency, inherent labour market inequalities, and competing in a more digitally connected world. Today's statement sets out some of the progress made on the Welsh Government's economic resilience and reconstruction mission, and whilst that progress is welcomed, there's always more that can be done.
Today's statement refers to some of the actions taken to support the foundational economy, such as the introduction of the backing local firms fund and the package of support for retail, leisure and hospitality ratepayers in Wales. In the wake of the pandemic, it's more important than ever that the Welsh Government invests in the foundational economy, as this investment has clear benefits in other policy areas and can help address our carbon footprint and reach the Welsh Government's net-zero target. However, it's important that good practice is shared and rolled out across Wales, so perhaps the Minister can tell us a bit more about how he's making sure that is happening, whether it's in relation to food procurement, the retail sector, or even social care.
Today's statement refers to the new transition plan, which will set out how the Welsh Government will approach the task of living with coronavirus. The Minister has said that the Government will continue to work on the basis of evidence, so perhaps I can tease out a bit more information from the Minister about the transition plan and the impact that it will have on businesses across Wales, and how their voices are being heard in the development of this plan. That's not the only plan that today's statement refers to, and I very much welcome the publication of the remote working strategy and a strategic vision for retail. However, it's vital that these strategies are forthcoming sooner rather than later. So, perhaps the Minister can tell us when these particular strategies are likely to be published.
The Welsh Government's economic resilience and reconstruction mission highlights our town centres, and rightly acknowledges that many of Wales's town centres demand urgent action. Our town centres are not just areas of business—they are the heart of our local communities, and it's crucial that action is taken to support them as they struggle against a backdrop of huge societal change. The Minister will be aware of the work done by Audit Wales last September on regenerating town centres, and more recently by the Federation of Small Businesses, which is right to call on the Welsh Government to walk the walk when it comes to acting creatively to tackle the scourge of empty units and tilting the balance in favour of our town centres. Therefore, I'd be grateful if the Minister could update us on the work being done to reverse the hollowing out of town centres and restore their vibrancy once again.
Today's statement refers to skills and employment, and I appreciate that there are a lot of reforms to the post-compulsory education and training sector with the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Bill. Today's statement also refers to graduate retention and how the Welsh Government is working with partners to more effectively link students with the right opportunities with Welsh businesses. The Minister will have seen that a recent pamphlet that boasts of relatively low rates of pay has recently been published by the Cardiff capital region, which describes Cardiff as having lower graduate salaries than Birmingham, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow, which will do nothing to increase graduate retention. Therefore, can he tell us what discussions are being had with the Cardiff capital region and all other stakeholders about graduate retention and how Wales is marketed?
As we rebuild post pandemic, it's also vital that the Welsh Government is attracting investment in a green recovery. We know that there are significant opportunities for the green industry and green technology. For example, hydrogen has the potential to provide delivery solutions across energy and transport sectors. It's vital that these sectors receive investment from the Welsh Government and, of course, the private sector as well. Let's not forget that Wales has established targets for 70 per cent of our electricity needs to be met by renewables by 2030. In light of the recent increase in energy prices, perhaps the Minister could tell us how the Welsh Government is prioritising work in this area and ensuring that these technologies and sectors are getting the resources that they need.
Therefore, in closing, Dirprwy Lywydd, there are several more questions that could be asked around the progress that is being made in relation to the economic resilience and reconstruction mission, but I won't try the Deputy Presiding Officer's patience. So, can I thank the Minister again for his statement outlining some of the work that is being done to create a more prosperous, greener and more equal economy? Thank you.

Vaughan Gething AC: Thank you for the comments and the constructive tone of the response from the Conservative spokesperson. There are many things that we agree on as outline challenges that the country faces. We've talked regularly about the climate and nature emergency and the labour market inequality that the Member mentioned in his opening introduction, and our challenge is how we can address that, and the range of other priorities that he set out in his question. That's why the vision covers such a wide area, but it also points to lots of areas of opportunity and challenge for us to address.
On your specific points around the foundational economy, I'm sure the Member will be pleased to hear that, as a Government, we've had a Cabinet discussion around the foundational economy and the next stage of moving that forward—so, not just the money allocated in the budget to further support the foundational economy, but to do as the Member has suggested, in how we share good practice that exists already, but then how we reset a level of ambition. Foundational economy officials and our procurement officials are working together, and are looking to examine different parts of the Government and our activity alongside public services and the private sector. We're especially interested in what we've already done within the food sector. We're also interested in what more we can do with the food industry in its broadest sense, through the whole chain from growth, delivery and also food manufacturing as well, where we've added significant value already.
We're also looking to build on work that's already taking place within health and social care. Having been on the other side of this conversation not that long ago, I do know that work has carried on for a period of time to look at what the health service and social care can do as very large employers, as well as people who spend significant amounts of public money. There's really good practice already taking place, for example, in Hywel Dda. We're looking to learn what has worked well to further increase what we've been able to do by embedding social value as part of procurement contracts in the health service, and then to do more in both health and social care. I'll be more than happy to provide updates to the Chamber and perhaps the Member with another hat on, when he's chairing one of the scrutiny committees.
On the transition plan that we're working through about how to transition to the next stage of living with COVID, there are regular conversations with all of our stakeholders, including business groups as well, both with me directly, but also with officials. It's not just been the regularity of the 21-day review process in reviewing our regulations; it's the nature of the conversations we continue to have about how we can understand with as much predictability as possible what we're going to be able to do if we do continue to have a stable environment with COVID, and,as I said in my statement, the balance of harms—the direct harm from COVID with an increase in cases balanced against the alternative harm of the significant measures we've had to take in the past. That is very much what we're looking to do when we set out the balance of that in the rest of the forthcoming period.
That's also been part of the context in the conversation we've had, for example, about the retail strategy, and the position statement we published last week. I expect to be able to have the full retail strategy where we've been able to work with bothtrade unions and employers to be ready, hopefully before the end of May, for publication. We're also working together with the visitor economy, having moved from 'Let's Shape the Future', the recovery plan through COVID, to want to get back onto the longer term strategy to provide people with a welcome to Wales where we do properly take advantage of economic opportunities in a way that is sustainable for both communities and our environmental impact.
On town centres, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change is leading that work. We've maintained a 'town centre first' approach, not just in the economy, but across a range of other areas too. And you will no doubt look forward to hearing more from the Deputy Minister on the town centre delivery group, with a focus on restraining edge-of-town development and reuse, looking in particular at town-centre development in clusters and corridors and how the redevelopment of town centres and neighbourhoods can make sure that we really do have vibrant high streets and town centres.
And on your two final points—and I'll be as brief as I can, Dirprwy Lywydd—Cardiff capital region, I have had, as indeed have my officials, a range of conversations with them about their ambitions, and I think the way it has been reported has perhaps been miscast. I think that the Cardiff capital region are serious about saying that there are tens of thousands of graduates being produced every year from universities within the capital region. At present, graduate rates of pay are lower. Our ambition is to attract graduate employers to the capital region to raise rates of pay and to raise investment within this area. Those people, wherever they've come from previously, have a real experience of having lived and studied in Wales for a period of time. And as I said in my statement, I am keen that people who graduate from university in Wales see their story continuing in Wales, not just in their first job but indeed their longer term future. And who knows, they could be future Luke Fletchers, looking forward to get married in Wales in the near future.
And finally, on renewable energy, I have always been very clear about not just the potential to decarbonise the way that we generate and use power but the significant economic opportunity that comes alongside it, and that is very definitely part of the work I am already doing with the two Ministers for climate change, and I look forward to providing further updates with my colleagues in the near future.

The Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Luke Fletcher.

Luke Fletcher AS: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you, Minister, for your statement. There is no doubt that the past two years have been challenging for the economy, and therefore it's important that we do look to the future in order to strengthen our economy and hopefully safeguard for the future as best we can. There are things to welcome, of course. As a member of the Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee, it's good to hear that there is work ongoing on HGV drivers, and I would also wish to join the Minister in calling on the Chancellor to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. It's something that is very worrying to me, and I've mentioned my concerns many times in the Chamber.

Luke Fletcher AS: If I could start on the role of co-operatives, Wales was hit hard by the pandemic due to its relative income poverty compared to other UK countries. We know that the poorest communities have been affected most, with those in low-paid and precarious employment being most likely to be furloughed or lose their jobs. As we look to recover from the economic damage of the pandemic, we should be seriously looking at reconstructing the economy in a meaningful way to achieve long-term security, prosperity and fairness for households and workers. I believe, and I know many Members in this Chamber believe, that co-operatives must play a central role in this, at the forefront of our post-pandemic recovery. I therefore ask the Minister how he envisions the role of co-operatives in this reconstruction mission to create a more prosperous and resilient economy. Co-operatives are almost twice as likely to survive their first five years, compared to other types of businesses. They're also known to bring increases in productivity, workers' rights, job security and overall employment figures. Italy's Marcora law, which facilitates employee buy-outs, saved more than 13,000 jobs between 2007 and 2013, during the financial crash.
Looking at a case study from my own region, BIC Innovation Ltd, a consultancy firm that has offices in Bridgend, was supported by the Wales Co-operative Centre to restructure towards employee ownership. Since becoming employee owned, the firm has quadrupled its workforce over the three-year period. The founding director of BIC Innovation Ltd believes that being an employee-owned business has attracted new talent with diverse perspectives who provide different ideas, delivered improved services for clients and added value to the brand. Providing greater support for more co-operatives would clearly allow us to make gains, not just in employment figures,but in fair, meaningful work, and allow us to build community wealth as part of our recovery.
In June 2021, the Welsh Government committed to doubling the number of employee-owned businesses in Wales, and I wholeheartedly support this objective. But there is a point that I wish to raise with the Minister. In a scrutiny session of the Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee with the Development Bank of Wales, there were uncertainties as to what additional funding would be available for the bank to pursue more employee buy-outs. If that additional funding isn't available, is the Minister confident that he will reach his target, or does he believe that additional funding is needed?
On diversity and fairness, it's widely accepted now, as we look to get people back into employment following restrictions, job losses and furlough, that young people, women, disabled people and ethnic minority communities will face particular difficulties in trying to re-enter the labour market, or when now entering for the first time. Within these groups, the impact of poverty, low household income and lower levels of education, as well as other disadvantages, will create further challenges for these individuals.
The disproportionate economic effect that the pandemic has had on these communities clearly shows that current policy is not enough to create an equal and fruitful economy for all in Wales. So, as we look at restructuring the economy to make it more equal, I wonder how the Minister, as part of this mission, intends to address the structural issues at the core of our economy that have allowed these groups to be more susceptible to unemployment and economic discrimination, and, moving forward, how we can ensure that our economy is more equitable.
Finally, on a green circular economy, the Minister has noted that one of the other outcomes of this mission should be a greener, more circular economy. We know that the jobs involved in these green, science, technology, engineering and mathematics industries are often dominated by non-working-class white men. What more will be done to ensure that the demographic gap in this type of employment does not worsen as we restructure our economy to make it greener? How can we ensure that women, ethnic minority communities, those from working-class backgrounds and other underprivileged groups are not left out of this green revolution in Wales?
And in keeping with my theme on fairness and improvements in employment, as we push for the green sector to grow, once again, I ask whether the Government will consider following the Scottish Government's lead in establishing a just transition commission to oversee the changes in our economy to ensure that no-one is left behind. Diolch.

Vaughan Gething AC: Thank you for the comments and questions. Starting with your points about the co-operative economy, as you'd expect, being a Labour and Co-operative Member of the Senedd, it's something that I'm especially interested in. Of course, there are views across the Chamber. I recall Huw Irranca-Davies's debate on the potential for a Welsh Marcora law, and the work that I'm doing with him and the Wales Co-operative Centre to look at what is possible.
Some parts of the Marcora law in Italy aren't possible because we don't have all the powers within that. But, rather than saying, 'Here are all the things that I can't do', what I said in that conversation with Huw Irranca-Davies and the Wales Co-operative Centre is that I want to look at what we can do, to understand how that will help us to meet our target, not only to double the number of worker-owned businesses within this Senedd term, but what more we can do to give the co-operative economy a stronger role in our future. Because I recognise that there are a number of significant positives. And picking up from the Conservative questions earlier on, actually, if we're going to increase and improve the resilience of the foundational economy, actually, co-operatives have a large part to play, as well as being organisations that can run in medium- and large-sized businesses around the country as well. So, I'm very keen on the co-operative and mutuals sector.
I heard what you had to say about the development bank, and whether more funding would be needed. It's part of an ongoing conversation that we've had with the development bank, and the objectives that I've set for them for the rest of this term. I have to say that I've been broadly impressed with the way that the development bank have gone about being creative in meeting some of the challenges as we've come out of the crisis, and I'm looking forward to seeing them continue to invest. They have a strong reputation for providing not just finance, but advice alongside businesses as well. There are a number of specific areas where they already work. They have got a £25 million management succession fund, which is about management buy-outs. They've also got access for larger worker buy-outs for the flexible investment fund.
But, really, the main part of this will come down to the bespoke advice that people can get from, for example, the Wales Co-operative Centre. As I set out in my statement, I've recently increased a further £0.5 million to help the Wales Co-operative Centre. We've also been able, in a longer term project, to have the £11 million European regional development fund match fund a project that the Wales Co-operative Centre have run.
The challenge is that, as we move forward, post EU funding, those funds are under even more pressure than before, and, when I talked in my statement and in previous statements about the pressure that's on the budgets, that means that if I choose to carry on funding that area—and I do expect I'll have something to say about our work with the Wales Co-operative Centre for the future—there are other parts of what the economy department has been able to do in the past that we won't be able to do at the same scale and level, but I do think this is part of the answer to deal with some of the skills challenges you mentioned later on.
But the best answer, of course, is for an attack of common sense and fulfilment of very clear manifesto pledges on Wales and the rest of the UK not losing out on a penny of EU replacement funds. As it stands, the comprehensive spending review and budget sets out that every part of the UK that previously had EU funds is going to lose out to a significant degree. That said, I'm hopeful, although not certain, that the department for levelling up will reach a different position on the Welsh Government's role in discussion and decision making about those funds, while still continuing to make the case for the full amount of funds to be paid.
And that, I think, comes back to your final points. I appreciate that Scotland have a just transition commission. I don't think that a commission in itself will necessarily deal with all the issues we want; it's really about what we choose to do. And from a policy point of view, myself and the climate change Ministers are very clear that, in wanting to see a transition to a net-zero economy, there are real opportunities, but there has to be a just transition for people in work now. We don't want to throw a group of people onto one side and ignore the skills and experience they've got as we're looking to create new industries. That's particularly important given that we have a shortage of labour and skills, so we're going to need to make use of people who already have skills and certainly want an economic future as well.
It's also, though, why, in the employability and skills plan that we recently published, we were very clear that we are aiming more of our support at people furthest from the labour market. So, it doesn't mean we're not going to achieve our apprenticeship target. It doesn't mean we're not going to carry on investing in training and skills and people close to the labour market where we can make a difference. But, as the Department for Work and Pensions is more active in some of that space, we are looking to make sure that our interventions support people who are furthest away, and often people with a disability, often people that look like me, and often women who want to either return to the workplace or enter the workplace for the first time, and the fact that, whilst we have made real progress on dealing with our economic inactivity rates in Wales, we're still slightly behind the UK average. So, that's where we're looking to focus our attention and our efforts, and I hope that will aid not just part of the just transition in people who are already in work, but to get people into work who aren't currently at present.

Alun Davies.

Alun Davies AC: I'm grateful, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm grateful to the Minister as well for his statement and I've been enjoying the discussion that's taking place here, but I find that the discussion is all about what Government is doing, and nobody has asked, 'Why is Government doing this?' I wonder whether Government has asked that question itself, because I've looked throughout the statements you've made through the programme for government, and I can't see any statement of intent. What is the point or purpose of policy, for example?
It's surprising that there is no mention of poverty in your policy at the moment. Now, if the reduction of poverty were a driver of policy, then you would take different decisions than if, for example—. Simply an emphasis on growth or GDP would drive very different decisions again. And unless we understand what the purpose of policy is, it's very difficult for us to hold you to account, Minister, and, at the same time, I see no objectives or targets of policy. So, you know, we've seen and there has been agreement across the Chamber that we want to see a fairer Wales, a greener Wales and the rest of it, but there is no idea anywhere about what that actually means in practice. What is the objective that you're seeking to achieve? How will you know if you've achieved a fairer Wales? How will we hold you to account for doing that? There is no timetable. There are no deadlines. There are no targets in the policy. And therefore, I find myself, both as a member of the Welsh Labour Party and as a Member of this place, at a bit of a loss as to how, over the four years, we can hold you to account for what you're saying today, what you said in October, what was published by the Government in December, and how, by the end of this five-year period, we will know, or you will know, whether you've achieved any of these ambitions or not.

Vaughan Gething AC: I thank the Member for his contribution. He is consistent on his point that he believes there should be more targets across a range of areas. My view is that of course poverty is a significant part of what we are looking to do and the fight against poverty. And actually, if we weren't interested in that, we wouldn't be looking to have interventions, for example, in the employability and skills plan, aimed at those people furthest from the labour market. We wouldn't have the significant aspects of the young person's guarantee that are looking to get people with lower skills, who are likely to be less well off, younger people who have yet to enter the world of work, to make sure they have an experience of the world of work and positive support. And there's part of the point about what is the Government doing, why are we doing this.
Well, apart from anything else, it isn't just about the improvement for the individuals and communities, and it isn't just about how we feel as a country; actually, without Government support and intervention, a range of things wouldn't happen. So, Business Wales wouldn't have been created on its own by the private sector. A range of areas that we've talked about that support the co-operative economy, if the Government wasn't active in that space, we can be very confident that those things wouldn't happen. And actually, what we're trying to say is this is partly about moving towards our national milestones, the national milestones we set out, the way that we want to be able to do business, and also, some of the metrics that we will use and we know we'll look to. So, for example, will we have made a difference on the levels of economic activity? Where will we be on employment? Where will we be on average wages? And crucially, the difference in different parts of Wales, which is a conversation I have regularly had with the Member and colleagues from Valleys constituencies about what difference are we making. Because we could make a difference to the national impact across the country and do nothing about economic inequality, and that's not where this Government is and it's certainly not where I am. I look forward not just to a conversation with the Member, but to being able to set out in more detail, as we move through this term, the progress I think that we will make and then making a difference to people's lives, in his community and others around Wales.

Thank you, Minister.

4. Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: High Standards and Aspirations for All

The next item this afternoon is a statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language on high standards and aspirations for all. And I call on the Minister, Jeremy Miles.

Jeremy Miles AC: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. Tackling the impact of poverty on attainment is at the heart of our national mission in education. That's the only way we can succeed in our aim of achieving high standards and aspirations for all. In implementing this vision, I am committed to avoiding deficit approaches, but instead to focus on positive actions to help realise the potential of all young people in a way that nurtures and reflects their aspirations.
Since becoming Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, I have also made it clear that we must consider all educational policies through the lens of whether they help tackle the impact of poverty on educational attainment. We will need a whole-system approach to succeed that supports children and young people through all phases of their education: pre-school, school and post-16. Today, I will be outlining some of the actions we will be taking in this area, steps that we will build on in the coming months.
Research and inspection evidence reveals that the single most important influence on learner success within the education system is the quality of learning and teaching, and this is particularly true of our disadvantaged learners. I want to ensure that we continue to improve the quality of learning and teaching, and make sure that that underpins the introduction of our new curriculum.

Jeremy Miles AC: We will work, Dirprwy Lywydd, with the Education Workforce Council and our initial teacher education institutions to ensure that the nature of educational disadvantage, its impact on educational achievement and how that can be overcome, is a prominent element of our initial teacher education programmes. We will also include this as a key feature of induction and of professional learning provision.
Our support staff play critical roles in our schools, with many already specifically employed to support teachers in dealing with the impact of poverty on pupil achievement. This is good practice. In order to strengthen further the capacity of teaching support staff to help address this priority, not only will we ensure they have access to high-qualify professional learning programmes, but we will also ensure that school leaders have access to clear guidance on the most appropriate way of deploying support staff to assist in overcoming educational inequalities.
We know how crucial the pupil development grant is to our schools. Evidence shows that since its introduction, its use by schools has improved over time. However, we know that there is still more that can be done to target this funding better. Whilst ultimately the use of this funding should be decided by schools, these decisions need to be more strategically influenced,better grounded in evidence and rigorously monitored for impact. We will therefore require schools to work closely with us, sharing their plans and how they intend to monitor impact, supported by further guidance on evidence-informed uses of the grant.
We know from research and inspection evidence that schools that couple effective learning and teaching with a focus on community engagement are most effective in overcoming the impact of poverty on educational attainment. We will therefore want to see schools operate as community-focused schools, reaching out to parents and carers and engaging with the whole community.
Over the coming months, we will invest £3.84 million in increasing the number of family engagement officers employed by schools, with part of their role to be focused on improving pupil attendance. We will also provide funding to trial the appointment of community-focused schools managers, and £20 million of capital investment to allow schools to develop further as community assets, making the school more accessible and open to its local community. We will also be working with local authorities and health boards to look to extend wraparound, multi-agency provision for learners in our most disadvantaged communities.
Dirprwy Lywydd, for some of our young people, their aspiration is to study the best courses at leading universities. The Seren network continues to go from strength to strength, supporting some of the brightest young people in Wales to succeed at university. In the next phase of Seren's life, we will focus on increasing the involvement in the network of learners from low-income households. University is not the pinnacle of aspiration for everyone, but your ability to reach that pinnacle, if you choose it, should not depend on where you embark from. And alongside this, I am also looking to provide greater access to independent careers advice for young people from low-income households in the latter years of primary education and at ages 13 and 16, so that they have the best possible information on the variety of paths that can lie ahead for them.
And leadership is crucial in all of this: the vision to ensure that that the very best learning and teaching is in place, the conviction that schools should operate as community assets and the tenacity to raise aspirations and to support learners and their families. Good leaders can make a huge difference. We will ask the leadership academy to bring more of a focus on supporting our more disadvantaged learners to flourish, and working with school improvement services, we will task them with supporting school leaders to deliver high standards and aspirations for all. We will also identify a cohort of headteachers and senior leaders who have had sustained success in overcoming the impact of poverty on educational attainment, and we'll ask them to work with us to support other schools and leaders collaboratively.
And finally, Dirprwy Lywydd, it will be essential that we regularly monitor progress at all levels of the system. We'll use a broad range of indicators to measure progress, while continuing to place a high importance on qualifications. Estyn will have a key role to play in both supporting and monitoring our plans, and this will include producing guidance that informs their inspection activity in this area, reporting annually on the progress being made by schools, colleges and other providers, providing further system-level feedback through thematic reviews, strengthening their focus on this area in the inspections of local authorities and the engagement work they do with school improvement services, and providing further support for schools.
Today, Dirprwy Lywydd, I've described just some of the actions we'll be taking in the coming weeks and months, and I look forward to sharing with the Senedd our progress on this journey. Every single child in a school in Wales deserves the best—the best of standards and the best of aspirations. And this is not a choice between equity and excellence in our schools. Dirprwy Lywydd, the hallmark of a good society is the ability to deliver both. We want schools that deliver high standards and aspirations for all, and the actions I've outlined today will set us on the path to that destination.

The Conservative spokesperson, Laura Jones.

Laura Anne Jones AC: Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thank you for your statement, Minister. We welcome a lot of what you say, and hope to see it translate into making a difference. However, what I am concerned about is the timing and content of some of what you've said.
I'll start with how you've outlined community schools, our twenty-first century schools. I mean, that's been in progress since 2014—nearly a decade now—and it's only now that we're talking about ensuring that they're truly community schools. We all want them to be, but it's clear from the community schools, these twenty-first century schools, as you go around our schools, that that is not what's happening; they're closing when the school closes. So, it is definitely something that we need to look into. So, I'm hoping that the things you've announced today will actually make a difference in this regard, and schools will be used to their full capacity and what they should be used for to make them truly community schools.
Also within your statement—and I completely concur with the statement—the most important influence on a learner's success within the education system is the quality of learning and teaching—absolutely, 100 per cent. What concerns me is that teachers need more support, they need more training, and we need more teachers. We have a lack of teachers coming forward now, apart from the programme that you've put in place, which, unfortunately, is not going to continue.
We had a situation where we had Chwarae Teg's leadership group come in today—young ladies coming in, interested in going forward in politics. They were a wonderful group of ladies, but it was really interesting to ask them about their experiences of how they're seeing things at the moment, how their experiences of lockdown impacted on their learning, on teaching and that sort of thing. And what became very apparent to me was their concern, even though they thought that teachers were doing a wonderful job, which we all know that they are, about the lack of support that they are getting in terms of knowing what the exam content is going to be, what modules they can cut, and then the girls themselves were worried about revision and what they ought to revise. And although we don't like the term 'catch-up', they were talking about the fact that—they were from all over Wales—the quality of education when it was online in lockdown was poor, and they're finding that even if it was okay, they're redoing what they did during lockdown because a lot of people were offline, even though they said that they were online, it was a blank screen and no-one could see if they were there, they might not even have been listening, so they had to repeat the whole thing to ensure that everybody in that class got the learning that they should have had. And what they said to me, also, was that the people who had missed out were those from low-income families, as a rule, and obviously those people with parents who were working, so they couldn't keep an eye on their children and support their children at home during that time. And that massive element of catch-up, even though we don't like to use that word, was real; it was very real. And they found that it was a massive stress to them and that they weren't actually getting the mental health support that they need.
And all these things that you've announced today are fabulous, but we must go to the core of what is going on here, of what is going on in the classroom, whether teachers are having enough support, and whether learners feel supported themselves. And for me, today, I was shocked by the fact that very intelligent girls from all over didn't feel that that support was there. So, I think that that is something that we need to look into.
Also, then, the educational disadvantage and its impact on educational achievement. Our PISA results are the worst; it's an embarrassment to Wales, I would say, on a par with Soviet bloc countries. And then we've got the pandemic, which has exacerbated that massive attainment gap between those that we really need to be helping out.
All this is not painting a very good picture, and although what you've announced today is great, I think there's still so much that we need to be looking into. And also, have people still got the technical support that they need, the connectivity that they need, from low-income families, the ones who were suffering the most during the pandemic? Because a lot of things—as I'm aware from my own son in secondary school—are now online; there's Google Classroom, there's Google Meet for homework and revision. All these sorts of things need to be thought about in the round if we are truly wanting to up our attainment level. So, I'm just wondering if you could comment on all that, Minister.
I think I've got a—. Here we go: in 2019 and last year, traditional exams were set, the attainment gap at top A* GCSE grade stood at 5.3 points between those getting free school meals and those not eligible. The gap then reached 11.5 per cent in 2021. It's not painting a very good picture, Minister.

You need to conclude now.

Laura Anne Jones AC: Okay. Then you've got the Seren network as well, which is brilliant; I think that's a great way of doing things.
In conclusion, and my last question, Minister: the independent careers advice for young people from low-income families, which you want to target, how exactly are you going to do that, and why only that group? Thank you.

Jeremy Miles AC: I thank Laura Jones for the welcome she's given to the initiatives that have been announced in the statement today. In relation to the point that she opened on regarding community schools, she will know that there's a range of experiences in schools across Wales in terms ofthe extent to which they are able to, in their own circumstances—where they are on the journey, if you like. Some have the facilities to be able to do that, others may not, but they have practices that mean they are deeply connected with their local communities.
The Government has a commitment in the programme for government to make sure that we encourage community-focused schools across Wales, to which my announcement today will be a contribution. Some of that is around making school assets more accessible, and there's a significant capital investment today to support that. But some of it is about how the school connects with families and families of learners. We've seen a lot of good practice across Wales in using the pupil development grant to fund family engagement officers. What the support that I'm announcing today will enable is for that to be extended, because, obviously, schools are still in a very, very challenging situation responding to the effects of long periods of lockdown and absence from school. The investment that I'm announcing today will contribute to schools' ability to respond to that to support their learners.
The experience she described of speaking to the young women today very much echoes the discussions I have with learners in all parts of Wales in relation to their experience of the last two years. On the particular point that she made around support for exams, she will know, of course, that the Power Up resource that we've made available in schools, and that I hope she pointed out to the young women today, is available, because that contains a wide range of revision resources and a comprehensive source of information around the adaptations for exams, the adjustments to exam contents, the prior notifications in relation to exam content—all of those things that we hope will support our learners as they prepare for exams this summer.
She makes a very important set of points in relation to the well-being of pupils and how best to support schools in supporting learners. She'll know, of course, about the extent to which we've increased the whole-school approach to budget and financing over the next three years in order to help schools extend their provision to support learners in this space. The Education Policy Institute, as she will know, has noted, I think, the extent to which funding in Wales has been specifically weighted towards many of our learners who are more disadvantaged in this area, including in relation to the important point that she made about the extensive provision of digital connectivity and equipment, which I think is generally acknowledged in Wales as being pretty advanced, perhaps, compared to some other parts of the UK.
Finally, on the point that she made about progress historically, the fair way of describing progress historically, I think, is to say that in relation to both primary and key stage 3 attainment, the gap has, certainly prior to the pandemic, closed quite significantly. Obviously, there shouldn't be a gap at all, but the journey has been to close that gap. That has been less successful at GCSE. The interventions that I'm setting out today, some of which are based on things thatwe have understood, some of which are based on new learning, if you like, in particular, some of the things that we've learnt over the last two years, I hope and expect will make a very significant difference at that level as well.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Heledd Fychan.

Heledd Fychan AS: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd, and thank you for your statement today, Minister. Like Laura Jones, I think we have to recognise the ongoing trauma for our children and young people. The pandemic is not over. We're seeing high numbers of teachers, children and young people not in school at the moment, and that the situation remains, and we're not yet in a period where we can look back and rebuild. Although this is to be welcomed today, I do think there's a huge amount of work for us to be doing in supporting our schools in these exceptionally difficult circumstances, as well as learners of all ages.
Also, we must recognise, historically, that this has been a grave problem pre COVID, and that we are now seeing that we have taken some backward steps in terms of attainment and ensuring that equal start for all. With so many families, as we know, with the cost-of-living crisis we're seeing now, with people not being able to afford food and electricity, and so on, that's all going to have an impact on our children and young people, and the trauma that they experience at home, which will make it so difficult for them to be doing their school work—finding a safe, warm space and having a home in order to do that work. This is all part of a package.
I was pleased to hear you focusing on the importance of community. You mentioned community-focused schools; in Welsh, they're calledysgolion bro. But how do you define that in terms of the twenty-first century schools model? Because, very often, we see these excellent new schools outwith communities, and more learners having to travel to them. It's a great concern of mine, and we've discussed this in the past, that some pupils have to travel by bus to get to these schools, even primary schools, travelling many miles to get to them. Parents have spoken to me about the fact that they have to travel on two or three buses to collect their child from school if they're unwell, or to go to a parents evening, and so on.
Although these resources are now open in some of these schools, and there will be further resources available, if our most disadvantaged pupils can't take advantage of those resources, aren't we exacerbating the problem? So, are there plans as part of this to invest in transport too, in order to ensure that everyone—? Because we have to be realistic now; 'community' doesn't mean that you should be able to walk to school in the model we have in terms of schools now. A community can be vast, and it doesn't necessarily mean a particular small catchment. So, how is every pupil going to benefit from this investment, so that we don't see these inconsistencies continuing?

Heledd Fychan AS: First and foremost, whilst acknowledging the need to raise education standards, there is also a clear need for post-COVID education recovery, as was mentioned by our colleague Laura Jones. Massive amounts of education has been lost already, so a certain amount of recovery needs to happen before actually improving standards. I know some investment has been made, but teachers and parents have told me that schools have struggled to be able to spend this money in the time that was available to them—that actually the resources or people weren't available to help them bridge that gap. Therefore, I would like to ask you, Minister, with regard to education recovery spending, how much has been spent so far, how has the money been spent specifically, and how has this helped with attainment? As we know, Wales is also embarking on a major curriculum change, as well as additional learning needs reforms, which will pose the biggest challenge to the schools standards agenda yet in terms of the scale of the ambitions for change. How does the Minister envision that the new curriculum will improve standards, and also, does the Minister believe that the school budgets and workforce are in place to respond to the pressures posed by these reforms, and, specifically, in both languages?

Heledd Fychan AS: Minister, you mentioned that

Heledd Fychan AS: our learners deserve the best, and they deserve to be able to access and use the best too.

Heledd Fychan AS: Of course, I agree with that, and would welcome any investment towards that. But, as I said, every pupil must be able to benefit from that, and we must also ensure that they should be able to benefit in both languages. At the moment, that isn't the case. We know from speaking to our children and young people that they can't access breakfast clubs, after-school clubs, and so on, and some of the programmes in these schools. Everyone should not only have access to the best, but they should be able to access the best, if we are to see the changes that we all want to see.

Jeremy Miles AC: I thank the Member for those questions. She's entirely right in saying that we need to continue to support schools through the period they're going through at the moment, which continues to be challenging, of course. She asked towards the end for confirmation of what's been spent in supporting our schools. In this financial year, for example, some £278 million has been spent specifically in response to COVID, which is an increase on the £220 million in the previous financial year. That funding source has come to an end in terms of the funding provided to the Welsh Government by the Westminster Government, but, despite that, and recognising the point that the Member makes that the need doesn't come to an end, we will continue to fund a scheme of some £37.5 million this year and in the future, and then there will be funding to respond to the needs of learners with additional learning needs, as well as the funding I mentioned in response to Laura Jones, which will be invested in responding to the challenges in terms of mental health and well-being among our pupils and school staff. I will be making a further statement on that in the coming days.
The Member is right in saying that the pressure in terms of cost of living on some of our learners is huge at the moment. I know that she recognises and welcomes what the Welsh Government has been able to do in expanding the PDG access to those pupils who are eligible in order to meet costs, as well as extending our free school meal provision over the school holidays, and, in addition to that, the commitments in the co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru, of course.
She made an important point on the ability of all pupils being able to benefit from what we mentioned in our statement today. Of course, the whole purpose of the statement is to ensure that the opportunities and the provision are available to all pupils. You mentioned new schools; I was with Sioned Williams opening a new school in my own constituency last Friday, which is an excellent example of community resources being available in that community, and a high percentage of pupils in that school are in receipt of free school meals. It was great to see the provision in terms sports facilities, but also drama, music and so on, that will be available to them, of course, but also to the wider community.
The point that she makes in terms of transport is a very important one. I recognise that that is an important factor. We've had other discussions on the importance of that issue, and I know that Lee Waters, as the Minister responsible for transport, is looking at what else can be done in that context for the important reasons that she outlined.
Just on a final note, I will say that the curriculum is an opportunity for us to ensure that every child has access to the highest standards. It provides flexibility, it allows all pupils to be encouraged in a way that responds to their priorities and their needs. I think that the schools that work with more families from disadvantaged backgrounds do welcome these developments, because it provides them with more opportunities. In terms of resources, of course, there is more do be done in terms of teachers and the education workforce working through the medium of Welsh. You will know that we are working on that with stakeholders at the moment, and are intending to publish that draft plan in May. In terms of school budgets, I will just remind the Member that the local government settlement is some 9.4 per cent higher than it was last year. It's historic in that sense. There is pressure on local authorities, of course, yes, but that provides a firm foundation for funding our schools.

Jenny Rathbone AC: Minister, I very much welcome your commitment to put rocket boosters under the ambition to make all schools community focused. Like Laura Anne Jones, I feel this is a little bit overdue, but it's really good to hear that you are really going to deliver on this. It's really important that what the taxpayer funds is available to the taxpayer, rather than this deficit model that keeps families outside the school and only allows in those that they select.
We clearly have some challenges. This week, I was contacted by a family whose child had been out of school for two years—two years. So, I very much welcome your commitment to have more family engagement officers, because we really do need to be proactively chasing people when they don't turn up. This particularly happens when children leave primary school and go to secondary school, and during COVID this has been, honestly, a fantastically difficult problem. But you can see the sort of work we have to do.
I'm privileged to be a governor at a school where faith, equity and excellence are the mission statements of the school. The faith bit is not about religiosity, it's about respect and celebration of each pupil, their strengths and weaknesses, their needs and talents, and the contribution they can make to our wondrous but very troubled world. As you would expect, St Teilo's affirms both equity—

You need to come to your question.

Jenny Rathbone AC: —and excellence in everything it does, and it has a commitment to not dumping individual pupils who become hard to teach, who may have difficult lives at home or who have additional learning needs.
So, I do hope that you can give a commitment that schools will not simply be allowed to get rid of kids who they think are going to cause them problems and particularly are going to affect their exam results, because I think this is an issue in some schools. It certainly doesn't happen in the school where I'm a governor, but we need to ensure that we have the right support for each child so we are able to meet their needs in every aspect. So, I hope that you'll be able to reassure us that you'll take action to stop schools who exclude pupils because they don't like the look of them.

Jeremy Miles AC: The Member has made some very, very important points in her question there, and I'm glad to hear of the school of which she's a governor focusing so clearly on the importance of pupils being in school as the best environment in terms of their well-being, but, obviously, certainly the best environment in terms of their learning.
We've been doing a significant piece of work in relation to absence, not solely to look at the data, which is, obviously, publicly available, but to drill down beneath that into the experiences of school, as to why pupils are perhaps persistently absent and the kind of more qualitative information that is essential for us to understand if we are to put in place the right responses as a Government to support schools in making sure that pupils come back to school.
And some of that is around confidence in the sense of well-being in pupils, some of it is around—. You know, the last two years has been an experience where some families will have identified not being at school as part of the normal experience of a pupil. Well, that must not be allowed to take hold in the longer term, obviously. But that is not a short-term—. That is not a short-term challenge; I think we are going to need to be working on this consistently.
The point that she made around how we assess how schools are performing—actually, part of what I was referring to in my statement is broadening how we look at this in terms of a school's performance, if you like, and moving away from looking simply at exam results and looking at questions to do with attendance and exclusion and health and well-being in a much more holistic way, which I think captures the kind of priorities that Jenny Rathbone was spelling out in her question.

Thank you, Minister.

5. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: The Children (Wales) Act

The next item is item 5, statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services on the children (Wales) Act.

Julie Morgan AC: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm delighted to be here today on a historic day for children and their rights.

Julie Morgan AC: I'm absolutely delighted that the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 came into force yesterday. The Government has a long-standing commitment to children’s rights, based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Our strong focus on children’s rights, and respecting children and young people as citizens in their own right, will help ensure their needs are met and their ambitions realised, making Wales a truly wonderful place to grow up in.
Consistent with our approach, and with the UNCRC article 19, children now have legal protection from all forms of violence. The law sends the message that no physical punishment is acceptable in Wales, making it clear and easy for everyone to understand: children should never be physically punished, under any circumstances. Terms like 'light smack' or 'loving smack' make light of physical punishment in a way that would be totally unacceptable if applied to adults. After decades of campaigning, I'm glad children in Wales now have the same legal protection from assault as adults. Children, who are more physically and emotionally vulnerable than adults, deserve nothing less. Simply put, big people shouldn’t hit little people.
The clarity in the law will provide a clearer and more consistent basis for practitioners to support parents to adopt positive forms of discipline. From the outset, we said we would put every effort into effective implementation of the Act and ensuring public, professionals and parents would be prepared for when the law changed. We've worked with many partners across key sectors, including health, education, local authorities, social services, police, the Crown Prosecution Service, youth justice, the third sector and community leaders, and I'm grateful for their determination to work collaboratively implementing the Act. And I would particularly like to thank the Children's Commissioner for Wales, Sally Holland, for her absolute commitment to this issue and for working steadfastly to promote and safeguard children's rights.

Julie Morgan AC: The past two years since the Act was passed have been exceptionally challenging. Despite the pandemic, a phenomenal response from stakeholders has enabled us to achieve a huge amount since the first meeting of our strategic implementation group in May 2019. The Children, Young People and Education Committee were clear during scrutiny that, to ensure the Act benefits children and their families, we should make sure everyone is aware the law has changed and support parents to adopt positive parenting styles. An extensive multimedia communications and engagement campaign is ensuring maximum awareness of the law changes. Our campaign has included television and radio adverts, out-of-home print and digital advertising, and a national leafleting campaign. The campaign will continue post commencement to maintain levels of public awareness. Our dedicated website includes information for parents, other members of the public and professionals.
Children in Wales are working with us on an engagement plan, and resources to support awareness raising with children and information will be embedded within schools and existing initiatives, so it can be framed and discussed within a children's rights context, in an appropriate setting. As part of our engagement work, we've connected with groups and communities where there may be barriers to communication, and this has included producing resources in a range of languages and formats to suit a variety of needs. Alongside the campaign, we're providing a great deal of information, advice and support for parents, including through health visitors, our family support programmes and our 'Parenting. Give it Time' campaign.
Our parenting expert action group thoroughly reviewed the availability of parenting provision. Where gaps were identified, local authorities are working together and/or commissioning specialist support. Their comprehensive review of the 'Parenting. Give it Time' campaign has ensured it complements the Act, and parenting advice is available for parents with children from birth to 18 years.
We’ve worked with partners to consider the impact on professional processes. A practice guide, complementing existing safeguarding procedures, has been published, providing additional information for practitioners about safeguarding responses in relation to the Act. Ultimately, we want messages about the law to be embedded into existing services. We have therefore updated the Healthy Child Wales programme guidance so health visitors have information needed when talking with parents. And the law makes it clear: physical punishment of children is illegal. As acknowledged during scrutiny, a small number of individuals may be charged or prosecuted in circumstances where, prior to commencement, they might not have.
The Children, Young People and Education Committee's Stage 1 report recommended a scheme should divert cases away from the criminal justice system, where appropriate, with a focus on supporting parents rather than penalising them. So, working closely with police and local authorities, we've set up tailored parenting support, which can be offered as a condition of an out-of-court disposal and as a rehabilitative alternative to prosecution. Where police decide an out-of-court disposal is appropriate, parenting support can be offered to avoid re-offending. Welsh local authorities will receive up to £2.4 million over the next three years to fund this, in addition to almost £500,000 already received.
The support will encourage and help parents to adopt positive parenting techniques while making it absolutely clear that the physical punishment of children is unacceptable in all circumstances, and, from this point on, illegal. The Act places a duty on Welsh Government to publish a post-implementation report three and five years after commencement, or as soon as practicable after that. We've worked with police, social services, the Crown Prosecution Service and others to agree arrangements to monitor the impact of the Act on them, and we will continue to use representative surveys to track levels of public awareness and changes in attitudes.
So, I want to end by thanking those who've worked so hard to prepare for the commencement. This legislation represents a genuinely historic step in helping protect children's rights and their welfare. It sends a clear message about how, in Wales, we think about our children and young people, that we respect, we want the best for them and will do everything we can to make the experience of childhood as good as possible. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Conservative spokesperson, Janet Finch-Saunders.

Janet Finch-Saunders AC: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I think it is no secret and many know well here that I fully disagree with the children (Wales) Act, and I actually condemn any attempt to prioritise the criminalisation of good, loving and caring parents. With this Act, this Welsh Labour Government is now reaching further into the private lives of families, creating a nanny state, where Welsh Government think that they know best when it comes to the protection and safeguarding of our children.
The explanatory memorandum stated that the preferred option to
'Legislate to remove the defence of reasonable punishment in Wales'
would cost a total to our taxpayers of between £6 million and £8 million. Isn't it a shame, when children can't access dental services, when they can't access mental health services, that it's felt so important to actually bring this legislation in? So far, the Welsh Government has already spent just under £1.7 million. However, it seems that costs are spiralling. The Bill's supporting documentation included funding for an out-of-court parenting support scheme, to be used where the police decided it is more appropriate to do so, and I can tell you locally we have children that are falling through the safeguarding net because our departments don't have the resources now, Deputy Minister, so, this is just going to compound pressures.
Between £162,000 and £473,000 per year was initially allocated for the scheme, but the allocation in the 2022-23 draft budget is now nearly double that. In an effort to justify this doubling of costs, you stated to the Children, Young People, and Education Committee, and I quote:
'When we indicated a sum of money for this scheme, that was done without having done the intensive work that's been done since.'
Today, we learn that the budget has now jumped from £473,000 per year to £2.4 million—

Llyr Gruffydd rose—

Janet Finch-Saunders AC: Do you want an intervention?

No, there are no interventions to a statement.

Llyr Gruffydd AC: Oh, it's a statement. Sorry.

So, I'll be expecting the Member to come to a question soon.

Janet Finch-Saunders AC: —over the next three years. So, Deputy Minister, I do respect what you are trying to attempt in this, but I'm telling you here and now this will backfire, and it's just a shame that our children are being used in this way.
So, answer these questions if you wouldn't mind: will the Deputy Minister explain to this Senedd why she introduced a Bill, drove it to Royal Assent and, to quote you,
'without having done the intensive work'
that's had to be done since?
In fact, this is not the first time that you've been caught out with spiralling costs. Since the explanatory memorandum, the Bill has increased from a range of between £2.3 million and £3.7 million to £6.2 million and £7.9 million respectively. The revised regulatory impact assessment provides a total cost of awareness-raising activities of £2.8 million, previously described as being in a range of £1.3 million. And information on the out-of-court disposal schemes, not originally costed, was estimated at between £810,000 and £2.5 million. This legislation should be a lesson to all that costings need to be properly calculated and taken into account before agreeing to any new legislation. Question 2: will you clarify if the Act is now going to cost more than the highest estimate of £8 million and why you chose to waste such resources on legislation that gives control over enforcement to two reserved institutions, the Crown Prosecution Service and the police?
Thirteen years after the introduction of the smacking ban in New Zealand, a survey found that almost 40 per cent of mothers would still smack their child and 70 per cent would not report a parent if they witnessed them smacking their child on the bottom or the hand. Question 3: bearing in mind your commitment to use representative surveys to track levels of public awareness and changes in attitude, will you agree for the surveys to be answeredanonymously, so to establish if parents continue to use reasonable chastisement and would not report a parent?
Deputy Minister, you know how strongly I and some of the Members on these benches feel. We do not believe that this legislation was necessary or required. I would like to thank all those parents who bring up their children in this era of a Welsh Labour Government with massive levels of child poverty, and they do so in a caring, loving and considered household. Diolch.

Julie Morgan AC: Well, I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for that contribution. I really wonder who she thinks that she is speaking for when you're continuing your opposition to this Act, and I'd like to remind her that when this law went through this Chamber we had very strong support from two members of her party and one particular Member was part of the core group that campaigned tirelessly for this legislation to be brought in, so she certainly doesn't speak for her party. I really think that you're on the wrong side of history, Janet. It cannot be right for a big person to be able to hit a little person, and that—[Interruption.]

I would like to hear the Deputy Minister give the answer to the questions you have asked.

Julie Morgan AC: I think this is a fantastic move by the Welsh Government. It has committed itself to children, and we're also in tune with the public. There was a survey—[Interruption.]

Excuse me, Deputy Minister. At this point in time, this is a statement. You asked questions to the Minister, the Minister is now required to respond to those questions. It is not a debate, and please remember that. There's no point of order about giving additional information; these are the questions you should have asked to the Minister at the time. Deputy Minister.

Julie Morgan AC: Yes. There was a YouGov survey yesterday that showed that 68 per cent of the public in England thought that this legislation should be introduced in England, and I think that you'll find that this is the way the mood is going. There was a time when physical punishment was accepted, but now, in all our surveys it shows that younger parents, younger families don't even consider physically punishing their children. In fact, most of them think it's illegal already, before we passed this Act. So, I really think that you, as I said, are on the wrong side of history.
But then, to go on to some of the other specific questions you asked: from 2016 to March 2022, the cost was £2.5 million and that was over six years, which I think is very reasonable, and the proposed expenditure for the next three years is £3.44 million, and that will cover the awareness raising and engagement and the out-of-court parenting support. I think what you fail to realise, Janet, is that this is the result of a huge amount of collaborative working, that we set up an implementation group when this law was passed and we worked in that implementation group so closely with the police and with the Crown Prosecution Service, so that we produced something that is a joint product, because that's how we want to do things in this Government; we want to work with our partners. So, we worked together to have the out-of-court disposal scheme, which I think is absolutely crucial because we want to give all the help we possibly can to parents, and we do. We think physical punishment is wrong, but along with making it illegal, we are there giving additional support to parents, and I said in my introduction how much money we're giving to the local authorities in order to help support parents, and that is additional money. So, I think that, as I said, every penny is worth it. And, you started off by really saying, 'Why on earth did we introduce this Bill?' We introduced this Bill to make sure that children have as good lives as they possibly can.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Heledd Fychan.

Heledd Fychan AS: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. If you follow the Conservatives' logic, then we don't need any laws at all. I disagree with that, and I think if we have laws to protect adults, then we should have laws to protect children, and I'm glad to be able to note that physically punishing children is now illegal in Wales after the new law came into force yesterday. And after all, you were right, Deputy Minister, to emphasise the rights of the child. This makes it clear that children—[Interruption.]
I think you don't get it, if I'm honest. I know that you're heckling here, but this isn't about not getting it; it is about the rights of the child. And, actually, if you speak to a child or if you've spoken to children, like I have done during school visits—[Interruption.] And I know you have children, but if you speak to those children, as I have done recently, they actually know that this is coming into effect. They welcome it. I think any increase in awareness that a child has rights has to be welcomed. And I think all the information campaigns are definitely getting through to children that they know that they finally have rights, and that's not true everywhere in the world. We can't lose sight of the fact that this is historic and right in Wales, and that this is an important moment. And really, it is common sense that children should be afforded the same protection from assault as adults. They are the most vulnerable members of our society and deserve equal rights in this space.
As the Deputy Minister has said, the law is now clear. It's making it easier for children, young people, parents, professionals and the public to understand, and it will go a long way in adding to the work already being done to make sure all children in Wales have the best start in life and to live the lives that they want to live.
And just to get this out of the way, if I may challenge the Conservatives' claim that the Act will lead to a Stasi culture—things we have seen in the press. This is not only ridiculous and historically ignorant, but it's also insulting to the victims of the Stasi regime and those living in repressive regimes all over the world today. To compare a protective measure designed to uphold the rights of our most vulnerable citizens with the oppressive tactics of a cold war-era police state is simply incomprehensible, and this doesn't really deserve further discussion.
So, with regard to the Act, both the police and the chief crown prosecutor for Wales have stated that the numbers of people charged or prosecuted would be very low, something that we know is very challenging, with violence against women and so on. So, in the same way, could the Deputy Minister please just reiterate what the central purpose of this legislation is, and how it will be enforced? And those working on the front line with responsibility for protecting children, including the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, social services and so on have stated that this Act will improve their ability to protect children living in Wales because it will make the law clearer.
We've heard, obviously, some opposition to the Act from Members today, but those are in a minority, luckily. And I think when you look at people trying to justify traditional methods of parenting, well those are outdated by now, and we need to send that clear signal to our children and young people and to parents everywhere.
Claire Campbell-Adams of the Mum's Shoulders blog said it was brilliant that the ban closes a loophole, but she did note her concern that it could make it more difficult for parents who need support to open up, so I welcome the commitment with that funding and so on. But I wonder if you could, perhaps, elaborate further in terms of how we can encourage people who need help to access that help, so that it's not something hidden then, that we are making sure that they access the services being made available.
I would just like to close by saying how we fully support this in Plaid Cymru. It is a historic moment, it is welcome, and it is about time that the rights of the child were acknowledged in this way.

The Llywydd took the Chair.

Julie Morgan AC: Diolch, and thank you very much for that heartfelt support for this Act, and also for recognising that this is a historic moment.
In terms of the points that you made, I think it's important to stress that everyone's ability to protect children will be improved by this Act. This Act was widely welcomed by all the health professionals—the health visitors, the doctors—and everybody who works with children, including the social workers who work in a professional capacity with children, addressing the very difficult issues that we have to deal with. All of them said they wanted this Act to be passed. So, just addressing the Conservatives' opposition to this, they are speaking against what the professionals also think. They were almost completely united, the professionals were, that this is what they wanted.
And it does make it much easier, because parenting is very difficult, so I think we all have to recognise—. We all recognise how difficult parenting is, and we want to make it as easy as we possibly can for parents. I know how much I welcomed support, and I think that the support that we're offering here is, as I say, in addition. It's additional money, it's generous money—£810,000 per year to the local authorities for three years—to specifically concentrate on bringing a tailored response to an out-of-court disposal. So, it will be geared up to the particular individuals.
It needs to be very well thought out, because I can't say what a huge amount of preparation has gone into this Act. Since it was passed we've had two really intensive years, looking at all the issues that Heledd so rightly raises. I saw that clip on the television, with the worry about whether parents would be worried and wouldn't want to open up, and that's why I think it behoves us and the services to make it quite clear to them that we are putting in extra help for this. We want people to share what they feel, and I think we've just got to go on recognising that we do need to give support, because parenting is difficult. This isn't anything to do with the nanny state; the support we're giving is the support that we should give as a Government to our citizens.
So, I agree with Heledd: it's an absolutely great day. I'm thrilled that Wales is doing it, and I'm so glad for your support. Diolch.

Joyce Watson AC: I do welcome the abolition of reasonable punishment Wales Act. It is a hugely significant day, and if we did follow the argument that we heard earlier from Janet Finch-Saunders—that the state is intervening in people's lives—well, I'm glad that they are, because if we followed that logic then the state wouldn't intervene in ending domestic abuse, and the state wouldn't have intervened in removing the right of teachers who brutalised children with the cane and the ruler and anything else that was in their hand. So, there are times when it is right for the state to intervene, and it's right that the state is intervening here. Children have a right to be treated equally. That is clear from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and we would have been an outrider if we hadn't changed that legislation.
You said, Minister, that it is not right that big people hit small people. I absolutely agree with you. The public agree with us, and my question to you is: the roll-out of positive parenting across Wales, which in itself is a fantastic wording, 'positive parenting', how and when will that be rolled out? I know it has started. And how will people be able to access that if they need that help?

Julie Morgan AC: Thank you very much, Joyce, for your support for this legislation. I absolutely agree with your introduction, where you say it is right for the state to intervene, and the importance of the state protecting its citizens, I think, is absolutely crucial, and who could be more important to protect than the children?
I think you're also right in saying that, if we weren't doing this, we would be an outrider, because it isn't as if this is anything new. I think 63 states have already done this, and over 20 states are thinking of doing it, and this is something we have been discussing here in this Chamber for many years. I think near the very beginning of the Senedd there was a vote taken here by Members on this very issue, and there was agreement then, so there has been a majority in favour of abolishing this defence of reasonable punishment right since this Senedd started, so it's fantastic that we've reached the stage now that we're actually getting rid of it.
So, on the roll-out, the expert group that has been working on the issues, they've checked with each local authority how much support, how much resource they've got to help with the positive parenting, because we want that to be available all over Wales. Any gaps have been identified and, in order to address those gaps, the local authorities are working together to ensure that they have got people and resources there who will be able to work not only with those who have the out-of-court disposal, but also those who want help with parenting in a general sense. That is why we have put this extra money into it. I think this is a crucial part of the proposals we're putting forward today, that parenting support, which of course already exists, for example, in Flying Start, because Flying Start is one of the key areas where we do provide parenting support. I'm very pleased that, with the support of Plaid Cymru, we're working together to expand Flying Start. Parenting support as part of Flying Start will be expanded as part of the co-operation agreement. So, we are planning this roll-out, which, as Joyce Watson says, has already started. Thank you.

I thank the Deputy Minister.

6. Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Taking forward the recommendations of the Commission on Justice in Wales and the Law Commission report on Welsh tribunals

Item 6, the next item, has been postponed.
We will now move to items 7 and 8. In accordance with Standing Order 12.24, unless a Member objects, the two motions under items 7 and 8, the Corporate Joint Committees (General) (Wales) Regulations 2022 and the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Additional Authority) (Wales) Order 2022, will be grouped for debate but with votes taken separately. I don't see an objection.

The Corporate Joint Committees (General) (Wales) Regulations 2022 and The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Additional Authority) (Wales) Order 2022

Therefore, we will proceed. I call on the Minister for Finance and Local Government to move the motions. Rebecca Evans.

Motion NDM7958 Lesley Griffiths
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:
1. Approves that the draft The Corporate Joint Committees (General) (Wales) Regulations 2022 is made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 1 March 2022

Motion NDM7960 Lesley Griffiths
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:
1. Approves that the draft The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Additional Authority) (Wales) Order 2022 is made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 1 March 2022.

Motions moved.

Rebecca Evans AC: Diolch, Llywydd. I move the motions.
The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 provided for the creation of corporate joint committees to further drive collaboration across local government. In March 2021, the Senedd approved regulations establishing four new CJCs in Wales. Those establishment regulations were the beginning of a phased approach to putting in place the regulatory framework necessary for these new public bodies. In November 2021, a second tranche of legislation was approved by the Senedd, which continued to put in place the necessary powers and duties to underpin the operation of CJCs. The draft Corporate Joint Committees (General) (Wales) Regulations 2022 before us today represent the third tranche of regulations. These continue the application of the local government legislative framework that CJCs will operate in. These draft general regulations deal with CJCs' legislative framework concerning conduct, the appointment of substitute members and commercial activities. A number of minor provisions also relate to finance, legal proceedings, records and workforce matters.A consultation on these regulations ran between 10 November and 22 December 2021, and I'm grateful to those who responded, including colleagues in local government.
The draft Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Additional Authority) (Wales) Order 2022 also forms part of the third tranche of statutory instruments that provide for the legislative framework of CJCs. This draft instrument amends the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. CJCs will be included in the list of authorities that must have due regard to crime and disorder prevention in the exercise of their functions. As always, the intent is that CJCs are treated as part of the local government family in Wales. These regulations continue to ensure that CJCs are largely subject to the same or similar powers and duties as local authorities in the way that they operate and are governed. Thank you.

Llyr Gruffydd AC: The Senedd will, of course, be aware that Plaid Cymru opposed the creation of these corporate joint committees in the last Senedd. That's a battle that we lost, of course, and therefore if these joint committees are to come into existence, then they need to be accountable to the same standards and expectations as local authorities, particularly in terms of code of conduct standards. So, we don't oppose these regulations, but I think there's a valid question on the role of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales in this regard, and a question on the budgetary implications of the the work of the ombudsman in placing the joint committees under the ombudsman's auspices, which is the right thing to do. But, it does shock me that the regulatory impact assessment suggests that the Government doesn't feel that there would be additional costs, or if there are additional costs, they can be incorporated into the budget that the ombudsman would usually receive. I would assume that the Finance Committee would have something to say about that. As a former member of that committee, I'm highly aware that these bodies that are directly funded do come to ask for funding and are told to go back and look at things again. Budgets are tight. I would also assume that, given these CJCs are further away from the coal face and further away from communities, the potential for challenges or issues arising is greater. I would assume, therefore, that there would be more work for the ombudsman as a result of that, and shouldn't that be reflected in the regulatory impact assessment? I just want to better understand the Government's rationale in assuming that it can be incorporated into current budgets.

I have no other speakers, so the Minister to respond.

Rebecca Evans AC: Diolch, Llywydd. I thank LlyrHuws Gruffydd for raising this particular issue this afternoon. That is our assessment, based on our understanding of the likely workload and the likely impact of including CJCs within the auspices of the local government family. But, of course, we will want to keep all of these matters under review, and I know that the Finance Committee will be taking a particular interest in this. I will commit to having some further discussions with the Finance Committee to explore in due course whether they have any particular concerns about the way in which the RIA is coming to fruition, or otherwise, to ensure that we are making the appropriate allocations in respect of this work. But, it is our belief, at this point, that there will not be significant additional work for the public services ombudsman.

The proposal is to agree the motion under item 7. Does any Member object? I don't see any objections. Therefore, the motion under item 7 is agreed.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

The next proposal is to agree the motion under item 8. Does any Member object? I don't see any objections. Therefore, the motion under item 8 is agreed.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

9. The Council Tax (Long-term Empty Dwellings and Dwellings Occupied Periodically) (Wales) Regulations 2022

We move now to item 9, the Council Tax (Long-term Empty Dwellings and Dwellings Occupied Periodically) (Wales) Regulations 2022. I call on the Minister for Finance to move the motion—Rebecca Evans.

Motion NDM7959 Lesley Griffiths
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:
1. Approves that the draft The Council Tax (Long-term Empty Dwellings and Dwellings Occupied Periodically) (Wales) Regulations 2022 is made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 1 March 2022.

Motion moved.

Rebecca Evans AC: Diolch. I welcome the opportunity to bring forward these regulations today. The Council Tax (Long-term Empty Dwellings and Dwellings Occupied Periodically) (Wales) Regulations 2022 increase the maximum level at which local authorities can set council tax premiums on dwellings occupied periodically—more commonly referred to as second homes—and on long-term empty properties, from 100 per cent to 300 per cent. The measures are part of a wider commitment to address the issue of second homes and unaffordable housing facing many communities, as set out in the co-operation agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru.
Last summer, we consulted on local taxes for second homes and self-catering accommodation. This was one aspect of the Welsh Government's three-pronged approach to address issues of affordability and the impact that large numbers of second homes and holiday lets can have on communities and the Welsh language. The consultation formed part of a review of the current local tax legislation. We sought views and evidence from individuals and organisations on the discretionary powers that allow local authorities to levy a higher rate of council tax on second homes and long-term empty properties. We received almost 1,000 responses, reflecting a wide spectrum of interest.
The ability to charge additional council tax premiums has been welcomed as a mechanism that can help local authorities to mitigate the negative impacts that second homes and long-term empty properties can have on some communities. While many of the opportunities for addressing housing issues through premiums have not yet fully been realised, increasing the maximum level at this juncture will enable individual local authorities to decide a level appropriate for their local circumstances when the time is right for them. The powers come into effect from April 2023. Local authorities will be able to set the premium at any level up to the maximum, and they'll be able to apply different premiums to second homes and long-term empty dwellings. As now, it will be for individual authorities to decide whether to apply a premium and at what level to apply it. In making these decisions, each authority will need to make an assessment of the possible impacts on individuals, communities and the local economy. Local authorities should consult local people and home owners before introducing premiums, allowing a minimum period of 12 months between making its first determination to introduce a premium and the financial year in which it takes effect. I ask Members to approve these regulations today.

I call on Rhys ab Owen to speak on behalf of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee.

Rhys ab Owen AS: Thank you, Llywydd.I am delighted contribute to this afternoon's debate on behalf of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, and I wish our Chair, Huw Irranca-Davies, well on the happy occasion of the graduation of his son, which has been postponed a number of times as a result of COVID.
We considered these regulations at our meeting of 14 March, and our report to the Senedd contains three merits reporting points. Two of those required a response from the Welsh Government, and we were grateful to the Minister for providing those responses in good time for us as a committee to be able to consider those before coming to the floor of the Chamber.

Rhys ab Owen AS: Our first merits point noted that the significant increase in the charging authority’s discretion, from 100 percent to 300 percent, appears to engage article 1 of the first protocol of the European convention on human rights. Whilst it is, of course, recognised and accepted that states can interfere with a citizen's possessions, in this case by increasing the council tax charge on long-term empty dwellings or dwellings occupied periodically, neither the explanatory memorandum or explanatory notes to the regulations—nor, it appears, the original consultation, in fact—sets out any specific consideration of the impact on convention rights. In addition, they do not state that the scheme implemented by the regulation is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim in this regard.
In its response to our report, the Government simply stated that they were satisfied that the regulations are compatible with convention rights. Well, that might be, and probably is the case, Gweinidog, but my colleague, last week, Alun Davies, spoke in this Chamber, again on behalf of the committee, and he on that occasion again raised concerns about the uninformative responses the committee are receiving when we question further the Welsh Government's obligation with regard to human rights and equality impact assessments. So, could we gently ask the Government to reflect further on these two comments, to ensure that in future we do receive a full explanation on these very important issues?

Rhys ab Owen AS: Our second merits point draws attention to the consultation undertaken by the Welsh Government in respect of these regulations, and specifically how this is discussed in the accompanying explanatory memorandum.

Rhys ab Owen AS: Taking into account the very high number of responses to the consultation and the fact—probably hardly surprising—that the majority of those responses did not support the proposal to increase the percentage rate discretion, we were unclear why the approach was adopted in the regulations. In response, we were told that the Welsh Government has taken full account of all consultation responses, and that pursuing option 2, as it was described in the consultation, is a proportionate response in pursuit of the legitimate aim of furthering the Welsh Government’s commitments to reform. The committee is aware that our colleagues in the Local Government and Housing Committee have an inquiry on the policy merits—or otherwise—of what these regulations are seeking to achieve, and we look forward to that report.

Rhys ab Owen AS: Our final merits point, Minister—and as I said, there was no need to respond to this point—notes that the scheme set out in the regulationswill likely result in increased revenue to charging authorities for the provision of services covered by the council tax charge, and that the regulations prescribe by amendment the mechanism by which that charge can be increased at the charging authority’s discretion.
So, those are the committee's comments. Thank you.

Janet Finch-Saunders AC: I'd just remind Members to refer to my own declaration of interests form in terms of property ownership.
Now, these regulations stem from failure. Failure by successive Welsh Labour Governments to provide new homes: only 4,616 new dwellings completed in 2021, when the figure should have been 12,000. Failure to get empty homes back into use: there were 25,725 in 2017-18, 22,140 in 2022-23. Failure to ensure that Wales uses the planning levers that it already has to provide homes, not hotels, for our locals. There are over 7,000 people that have been pushed into homelessness and now living in temporary accommodation.
Now, from my own reading of the explanatory memorandum, the only positive impact that these regulations will have is that they will contribute towards the commitment in the updated programme for government 2021-26 to seek to review council tax, and they will contribute to the objective in the co-operation agreement to provide greater powers to local authorities to charge council tax premiums whilst increasing taxes on second homes.
The discretion given to local authorities to charge a premium is intended to be a tool to help local authorities to bring back long-term empty homes, and support local authorities in increasing the supply of affordable housing. However, there is absolutely no clarification as to how any extra revenue will be spent. As the explanatory memorandum makes clear, local authorities can use the funds as they see fit. In fact, there is clear lack of appetite and support for your proposals, and I think my colleague Rhys ab Owen MS there has just said about the 1,000 people out of 3.1 million who have responded and the proportion of those who are obviously against this, so it does beg the question why you seek to pursue this. To date, only half the authorities have chosen to apply premiums to long-term empty or second homes or both. Only 30 per cent of long-term empty dwellings in 2022-23 will pay a premium, and the majority of responses to the consultation did not support an increase in the maximum premium, so if you're going to ignore a consultation, what is the very point of it? You're just going to ignore the majority view.
Importantly, the consultation yielded limited evidence that stakeholders believe that increasing the maximum percentage could have a positive effect in addressing the issues presented by second homes. What we have here is a set of regulations that you and your coalition—oh, co-operation—partners in Plaid Cymru want, to try and make people think that you are fighting for more homes for local people. However, the reality is that this strategy is merely a facade to failure and flawed policy by socialists and anti—[Interruption.] Hang on. Hey, hang on. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I haven't finished yet. Anti-visitor nationalists. [Interruption.] And your pandering to Plaid comes at a great cost—administrative costs to the Welsh Government, tax collection, enforcement, complaints handling, costs to local authorities, and a cost to actual equality.
I was astounded to read the claim in the explanatory memorandum that the policy will contribute to a more equal Wales. There is absolutely nothing equal about the 300 per cent premium at all, and I would ask—as has been asked of me so many times—why did you suddenly pluck the figure of 300 per cent out of the air? That question—. What evidence, what data, what have you used, what information have you used, to just pluck that figure? You are punishing second home owners and feeding the fire of anti-visitor rhetoric in our nation. The Welsh Conservatives will be voting against these dangerous regulations today, and we will continue to champion the clear policies that we have been proposing since the start of the Senedd to ensure that we build homes—and, yes, homes—for local people. I ask the Senedd, or Welsh Parliament, to say 'no' to this false facade by Welsh Labour and Plaid, and to give other solutions a chance.
No. 1: let's address affordability by building more homes, with an emphasis on generating mixed communities. Two: remove the block on as many as 10,000 new homes, including 1,700 affordable, due to really inordinate Natural Resources Wales guidance on phosphorus. Three: work with our local authorities to better promote the empty homes loan. Four: review what steps can be taken to convert empty space above retail units into affordable, centrally located houses. Five: bring back into use public sector owned land and buildings that are spread across Wales that could actually be brought back into making good housing for those people who require them. Six: amend technical advice note 6 to allow for children of farmers who live at home but work elsewhere to more easily gain planning permission to build homes on family land. And seven: restore the right to buy in Wales, building houses for locals on the edge of communities, reinvesting sale proceeds into more social housing, and, if you protect those homes from sale for 10 years, you will actually have some good—[Interruption.]

I think you're about to finish, Janet Finch-Saunders.

Janet Finch-Saunders AC: I am.

Don't listen to him. [Laughter.] Llyr Gruffydd.

Llyr Gruffydd AC: I mean right to buy is part of the reason that we're here discussing this, to be honest.

Llyr Gruffydd AC: Let us recall that we're talking about discretionary powers here—don't forget that. These are discretionary powers. This isn't an order saying, 'Use these powers', or, 'You must implement these powers.' This is but one element in a far broader range of possible tools that our local authorities could adopt. You mustn't look at this in isolation; this is simply one element of a far broader solution, and some of those are ones that you yourself have referred to, although it took five minutes of negativity to come to some constructive points at the end. But, in isolation, this isn't a solution, and nobody is suggesting that it is, but it is one tool among many that local authorities can adopt. And I emphasise that it's one among many, and there are other steps that we as a party have supported in terms of tackling the affordability of homes, the amount of homes available, changes to planning, changes to statutory registration of holiday lets, and that is alongside the use of the taxation system, in order to start to deal with the problem in those areas where there is a crisis—and we must bear that in mind too. And 'crisis' is the word, if I may say so. And if it is a crisis, then the Government's solution needs to reflect that crisis.
I understand the point that the committee made on human rights. But what of the human rights of those people who are driven out of their communities because they can't afford homes in those communities—these communities where they've been born and raised, where they call home and where they want to live? The right to live at home—'Hawl i Fyw Adra'—is what the campaign is called. Those who have nowhere to live have rights too. So, I would encourage Members to support this motion as one piece of the jigsaw, as one part of the effort to deal with the problem, and to provide an additional option to local authorities. Many may not choose to use it, but it is an option in those areas where the problem is most intensive, and the response demands such a response.

Peter Fox AS: Before I begin, I'd like to state that I'm speaking as a member of the LJC committee, but not on behalf of the LJC committee. I really want to build on the point earlier that Rhys made about equality impact assessments. It's more of a procedural point. But, Llywydd, I would like to ask the Minister about the lack of an equality impact assessment within the explanatory memorandum of these regulations. This is a fundamental point and one that applies to any decision to be made by the Government or the Senedd. Now, I understand that this is a procedural point, as I shared, but I still think that it's an important point to raise, because, regardless of what regulations are about, they still have an impact on people, potentially including those with protected characteristics.
The Minister will be aware of the various pieces of legislation that the Welsh Government is subject to regarding equalities. Indeed, under the Equality Act 2010 (Statutory Duties) (Wales) Regulations 2011, the Welsh Ministers must have appropriate arrangements for carrying out equality impact assessments. Yet, the explanatory memorandum simply states that:
'No negative impact on groups with a protected characteristic has been identified as a result of these Regulations.'
There isn't any additional information provided as to how the Welsh Government carried out an equality impact assessment for these regulations and whether it complies with legal equality duties. Minister, what arrangements has the Welsh Government made to comply with its equality duties when developing these council tax regulations? And if it has complied, where is the evidence of this? Surely, providing all of the information will help to improve Senedd scrutiny on not only these regulations, but future ones as well. Diolch, Llywydd.

Mabon ap Gwynfor AS: Well, everyone here will be aware of the glory of Dwyfor Meirionydd, the constituency that I am privileged to represent. But, while visitors enjoy the incredible beauty of the region, the truth is that families have to scrape a living there, with income per capita among the lowest in this state and the value of homes having shot up. Indeed, we recently heard about a hut on the beach in Abersoch selling for £200,000. My office is deluged at the moment with people contacting me seeking support in relation to housing: young parents who are homeless; parents working in the public sector or the private sector, earning an income but who are homeless; babies being brought up in inappropriate properties, with mothers, more often than not, having to carry the pram up with their shopping and the baby to go up to a damp bedroom—housing that is entirely inappropriate for them. From Aberdovey, Beddgelert, Criccieth, Morfa Nefyn and every other community in between, one in four homes in many of these communities, and on occasion one in two houses, are vacant for most of the year, whilst these families, bringing up their children in inappropriate accommodation, full with grandparents and other members of the wider family, are having to look at these homes sitting empty.
As Llyr said, it is a crisis and it is entirely immoral. We must take steps to resolve this, and I speak on behalf of every one of these people I have seen over the past few weeks who are living in inappropriate accommodation or are homeless, and I welcome any steps brought forward in order to seek to address his huge inequality and injustice.

James Evans MS: Today, I want to speak on behalf of those genuine tourism businesses that are going to be impacted by these regulations. I've been contacted by many genuine businesses that will be affected by this, with the increase in the days that they need to be let from 140 to 252. A lot of those businesses that genuinely set up their company so that people can come to Wales to enjoy our scenery, to spend money in our local areas, are very concerned that, if they do not meet the threshold for the amount of days let, their businesses will be forced to close, when those properties, which I'm sure you hope will go back on the open market, many of those are subject to planning restrictions, some of them are too big, they'll be too expensive and local people will not be able to afford them. And what I don't want to see is many businesses going bust, many businesses that can't afford to pay 300 per cent council tax, because that is what's going to happen.
When visitors come here, they are not going to have anywhere to stay. As my colleague Janet Finch-Saunders has said, this second home rhetoric has got to stop. The problem here is not second home owners, it's not people running genuine businesses, it's the Government here that have failed for years to build the houses that we need for our young people. This Government could abolish land transaction tax for young people. You could get on and build more houses. You could get rid of the phosphate regulations. But you haven't got a plan to address it. This is a typical socialist Government. The only way—[Interruption.] The only way you find of addressing problems is through tax, tax, tax. This is a tax on aspiration, it's a tax on tourism, and it's a tax against people visiting Wales. So, I suggest the Government gets on, builds more houses and puts policies in place that actually support young people to buy homes and not tax people off the face of this earth.

Mark Isherwood AC: Well, on a similar theme, to justify its announcement that any self-catering business unable—[Interruption.]

Can we just hear Mark Isherwood now, please? Can we have some silence?

Mark Isherwood AC: To justify its announcement that any self-catering business unable to meet its increase to 182 days let annually will be removed from the business rate register and may have to pay a council tax premium of up to 300 per cent, your Government stated that respondents to the consultation, respondents representing the wider tourism industry, clearly support a change to the criteria and self-catering accommodation to be classified as non-domestic, and even more surprisingly, were of the view that the majority of genuine holiday accommodation businesses would be able to satisfy increased letting thresholds. Of course, since then, we've heard outcry from the sector across Wales.
Concerns have been raised with me by actual legitimate holiday-let businesses, and include, 'I have two holiday lets in the garden of our Gwynedd home. We're open all year, are fully booked during peak season, but usually only have weekend short-break bookings during the quieter months. I fear we will end up bankrupt.'
'The six holiday cottages that we have adjacent to our home have been our business for 25 years, and for businesses such as ours that do not meet the 182 days letting, how could council tax be charged on cottages that have planning permission that states that they can never be residential?'
'Our holiday cottage is 6m from our front door, so, clearly, it's not a second home and it actually specifies this on the title deed.'
'We've been trading for the past seven years, have exceeded 182 days let in four out of the seven years.'
So, we need to know what impact assessments the Welsh Government has therefore carried out of the consequences for legitimate holiday-let businesses, businesses that were established, in many cases, in response to calls by Welsh Governments since devolution for them to diversify within the rural economy—businesses that have properties that have never and will never be used as second homes. Diolch yn fawr.

The Minister to reply to the debate. Rebecca Evans.

Rebecca Evans AC: Diolch, Llywydd, and I'm grateful to those Members who have participated in today's debate. I'll just begin by responding to the points made on behalf of the LJC committee, and it is of course the case that the report identified two merits scrutiny points under Standing Order 21.3, and namely that is of political or legal importance, or gives rise to issues of public policy likely to be of interest to the Senedd. And, of course, in our response, we did state that we were satisfied the regulations are compatible with convention rights, and provided an explanation as to why option 2 of the RIA was pursued rather than option 1, and the committee did then go on to accept the Welsh Government's response, following advice from the Senedd lawyer, and confirmed that they were satisfied with the response. But I will give some reflection to the points raised on behalf of the LJCcommittee, both by Rhys ab Owen and also by Peter Fox this afternoon.
These regulations will give more flexibility to local authorities, and they can provide more support to local communities in addressing what are genuine negative impacts that second homes and long-term equity properties can have, and this is one of the levers that we have available to us to create a fairer system. And, as Llyr Gruffydd was saying, this is one tool amongst many. And, of course, it's imperative that we do use the tools that are available to us, and I think that Llyr Gruffydd and Mabon ap Gwynfor really set out why this is important that we do address this issue.
One of the other tools that we will have available to us is the matter of the thresholds for holiday lets. However, that's not what we are debating this afternoon. So, James Evans and Mark Isherwood will have their opportunity to contribute on those regulations in due course. There's currently a technical consultation open for response, so I'm sure that they'll take the opportunity to respond to that technical consultation, which is ongoing currently.
We will obviously continue to make every effort to increase the supply and the affordability of homes, and we've shown that commitment in the £1 billion of funding to build 20,000 low-carbonsocial homes, which was included in our final budget, approved on 8 March. And we're also taking important action to address the issue of empty homes, because we do recognise, of course, that empty dwellings, and particularly those that have been empty for long periods, can present real problems for local communities. We've taken a whole-system approach, backed by significant investment, to tackle these issues. In this financial year alone, we've made £11 million available to local authorities whose communities are affected by second home ownership and holiday lets, so that they can buy and renovate those empty homes for social housing. That's a really important intervention. And, in addition, we're recently received funding applications from Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire local authorities, seeking assistance with empty home purchases and renovations, and those applications are totalling more than £13.5 million.
Of course, local authorities can use the revenues raised from premiums to tackle issues affecting the local supply of affordable housing, including bringing empty homes back into use. A number of local authorities have already used the premium—to date, 11 of them have—to address the issues of long-term empty homes or second homes or both. Gwynedd and Swansea have set the premium at the current maximum, which is 100 per cent on homes, and that was from 1 April 2021. Pembrokeshire will do so from 1 April 2022, and the Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Pembrokeshire and Swansea have also set a 100 per cent premium on long-term empty dwellings. So, there's clearly an appetite here on the part of local authorities to engage with the new tool that we're providing them with, and they'll do so having consulted locally and having taken that decision within their councils at the time that is right for them, and set the level at the point that is right for them, and that's what these regulations today will enable them to do.
So, finally, as I outlined in my statement on council tax reform in December, it is our ambition that reforms to council tax are designed to ensure contributions from households are made as fairly as possible—dare I say, Llywydd, the socialist way—whilst also maintaining its role as a significant revenue stream, which, of course, helps to fund vital public services across Wales. Of course, I will continue to keep Members informed of developments. Diolch.

The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] There is objection, therefore we will defer voting under this item until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.

And we've reached voting time, and we'll take a short break now before we hold this vote. So, a short break.

Plenary was suspended at 16:52.

The Senedd reconvened at 16:56, with the Llywydd in the Chair.

10. Voting Time

That brings us to voting time. The only vote this afternoon is on item 9, the Council Tax (Long-term Empty Dwellings and Dwellings Occupied Periodically) (Wales) Regulations 2022. I call for a vote on the motion tabled in the name of Lesley Griffiths. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 36, no abstentions, 13 against. Therefore, the motion is agreed.

Item 9. The Council Tax (Long-term Empty Dwellings and Dwellings Occupied Periodically) (Wales) Regulations 2022: For: 36, Against: 13, Abstain: 0
Motion has been agreedClick to see vote results

That concludes our proceedings for this afternoon.

The meeting ended at 16:56.

QNR

Questions to the First Minister

Mark Isherwood: How does the Welsh Government support the tourism sector in Wales?

Mark Drakeford: Our strategy, 'Welcome to Wales: Priorities for the visitor economy 2020-2025', sets our ambition for the sector and outlines how, together with partners, we can extend the season, bring tourism to more parts of Wales and increase spend in the tourism economy.

Sam Rowlands: What action is the Welsh Government taking to address flood risk in North Wales?

Mark Drakeford: Our funding objectives to reduce flood risk are set out in the programme for government, and this includes the relevant co-operation agreement commitments. This year, the Welsh Government is providing a record level of funding to our flood risk management authorities. This funding will be increased further in 2022-23.

Hefin David: What support is the Welsh Government providing for national heritage projects?

Mark Drakeford: As part of the Welsh Government’s final budget package, Cadw was allocated an indicative annual capital budget of £10 million for 2022-23 to 2024-25 to support national heritage projects. This will conserve and invest in our outstanding historic sites, including the completion of major projects at Caernarfon and Caerphilly castles.

Luke Fletcher: What support does the Welsh Government provide to shorten supply chains within Wales?

Mark Drakeford: In February 2021, we launched our manufacturing action plan, which identifies the steps needed to develop resilient supply chains in Wales.